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SYSTEMATIC REVIEW article

Front. Pharmacol.
Sec. Ethnopharmacology
Volume 15 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fphar.2024.1382876
This article is part of the Research Topic Natural Sources as Potential Therapeutic Agents against Obesity and Type-II Diabetes View all 5 articles

From Sugar Binders to Diabetes Fighters: The Lectin Saga of Antihyperglycemic Activity through Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

Provisionally accepted
N Akshaya Simha N Akshaya Simha 1Shashank Patil Shashank Patil 1Jayanthi M K Jayanthi M K 1Chaithra N Chaithra N 1Ling Shing Wong Ling Shing Wong 2Jureerat Kijsomporn Jureerat Kijsomporn 3Ranjith Raj Ranjith Raj 1*Ramith Ramu Ramith Ramu 1*
  • 1 JSS Academy of Higher Education and Research, Mysore, Karnataka, India
  • 2 INTI International University, Nilai, Negeri Sembilan Darul Khusus, Malaysia
  • 3 Shinawatra University, Pathum Thani, Thailand

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Lectins are carbohydrate-binding proteins that are extremely selective for sugar groups present in the other molecules. As a result, they perform a variety of roles in biological processes involving cell, carbohydrate, and protein recognition at the cellular and molecular levels. Since lectins can bind to carbohydrates, they may play a role in determining its rate of digestion. They also bind to some of the proteins that are involved in diabetes mellitus (DM) pathophysiology. The present review aims to summarize the efficiency of lectins from different sources as potential antihyperglycemic agents. The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines were employed for the drafting. In this regard, published scientific articles on the effects of different lectins on blood glucose (BG), glucose tolerance, hormonal effects, carbohydrate digesting enzymes, oxidative stress, and insulin production process were collected from reputed journals using electronic databases. Also, the toxicity effects of lectins from different sources were collected. A specific keyword search was completed to collect numerous articles with unique experimental designs and significant results. This was followed by selection of the requisite articles based on the criteria designed by the authors. Data extraction was based on the common research elements included in the articles. From 13 identified studies, 11 studies were considered after double screening based on the inclusion criteria. Further, all 11 pharmacological investigations were considered for review.Subsequent studies reflected on the pharmacological properties of lectins on BG level, oxidative stress, β-cell proliferation, insulin resistance, inhibition of carbohydrate digesting enzymes, body weight, food and water intake, lipid profile and other parameters. This review highlights lectins as potential anti-diabetic agents. However, due to a limited research, systematic evaluation is recommended for their development and promotion as effective potential anti-diabetic agents. The clinical efficacy and safety of lectins against diabetes mellitus must also be evaluated.

    Keywords: Lectins, Diabetes Mellitus, Antihyperglycemic, Hormonal effects, carbohydrate digesting enzymes, Oxidative Stress, insulin production process, Toxicity

    Received: 06 Feb 2024; Accepted: 13 Aug 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Simha, Patil, M K, N, Wong, Kijsomporn, Raj and Ramu. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence:
    Ranjith Raj, JSS Academy of Higher Education and Research, Mysore, 570 015, Karnataka, India
    Ramith Ramu, JSS Academy of Higher Education and Research, Mysore, 570 015, Karnataka, India

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