AUTHOR=Sun Lu , Di Yuan Ming , Lu Chuanjian , Guo Xinfeng , Tang Xianyu , Zhang Anthony Lin , Xue Charlie Changli , Fan Guanjie 

TITLE=Additional Benefit of Chinese Medicine Formulae Including Dioscoreae rhizome (Shanyao) for Diabetes Mellitus: Current State of Evidence

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Endocrinology

VOLUME=11

YEAR=2020

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/endocrinology/articles/10.3389/fendo.2020.553288

DOI=10.3389/fendo.2020.553288

ISSN=1664-2392

ABSTRACT=<sec><title>Background</title><p>Chinese medicine has been used to treat diabetes symptoms for thousands of years. <italic>Dioscoreae rhizome</italic> or <italic>Shanyao</italic> is a Chinese medicinal herb that is routinely used in the treatment of diabetes mellitus (DM).</p></sec><sec><title>Objective</title><p>The purpose of this study is to evaluate the evidence of the added benefits and safety of herbal formulae containing <italic>Shanyao</italic> in clinical studies and the possible mechanisms of <italic>Shanyao</italic> in the prevention and treatment of DM in experimental studies.</p></sec><sec><title>Methods</title><p>We searched nine databases for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that included <italic>Shanyao</italic> in the formulae in the treatment of type 2 DM. Furthermore, experimental studies on the prevention and treatment of DM by <italic>Shanyao</italic> in English- and Chinese-language databases were identified.</p></sec><sec><title>Results</title><p>Fifty-three moderate quality RCTs with herbal formulae containing <italic>Shanyao</italic> were identified. Results from meta-analysis indicated that <italic>Shanyao</italic> alone or formulae containing <italic>Shanyao</italic> in addition to conventional treatments could benefit people with type 2 DM in lowering blood glucose, blood lipids and reducing insulin resistance. Moreover, adverse events were significantly lower in the CHM plus conventional group than those in the conventional group. <italic>Shanyao</italic> may exert the benefit through various mechanisms including inhibition of <italic>α</italic>-glucosidase and DPP-IV activity, increase of endogenous GLP-1 and immune regulating activities.</p></sec><sec><title>Conclusion</title><p>Evidence from this review suggested that there appeared to be added clinical benefits associated with the use of <italic>Shanyao</italic> for DM, whether as a food supplement or as a CHM combined with hypoglycemic agents with a good safety profile.</p></sec>