Rhein for treating diabetes mellitus: A pharmacological and mechanistic overview

Tingting Deng; Jinxin Du; Ying Yin; Baorui Cao; Zhiying Wang; Zhongwen Zhang; Meina Yang; Jinxiang Han

doi:10.3389/fphar.2022.1106260

Rhein for treating diabetes mellitus: A pharmacological and mechanistic overview

Front Pharmacol. 2023 Jan 9:13:1106260. doi: 10.3389/fphar.2022.1106260. eCollection 2022.

Authors

Tingting Deng¹, Jinxin Du¹, Ying Yin¹, Baorui Cao², Zhiying Wang¹, Zhongwen Zhang³, Meina Yang^{2

3}, Jinxiang Han^{2

3}

Affiliations

¹ Affiliated Hospital of Shandong University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Jinan, China.
² NHC Key Laboratory of Biotechnology Drugs (Shandong Academy of Medical Sciences), Biomedical Sciences College, Shandong First Medical University, Jinan, China.
³ Department of Endocrinology and Metabolism, The First Affiliated Hospital of Shandong First Medical University, Jinan, China.

Abstract

With the extension of life expectancy and changes in lifestyle, the prevalence of diabetes mellitus is increasing worldwide. Rheum palmatum L. a natural botanical medicine, has been used for thousands of years to prevent and treat diabetes mellitus in Eastern countries. Rhein, the main active component of rhubarb, is a 1, 8-dihydroxy anthraquinone derivative. Previous studies have extensively explored the clinical application of rhein. However, a comprehensive review of the antidiabetic effects of rhein has not been conducted. This review summarizes studies published over the past decade on the antidiabetic effects of rhein, covering the biological characteristics of Rheum palmatum L. and the pharmacological effects and pharmacokinetic characteristics of rhein. The review demonstrates that rhein can prevent and treat diabetes mellitus by ameliorating insulin resistance, possess anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidative stress properties, and protect islet cells, thus providing a theoretical basis for the application of rhein as an antidiabetic agent.

Keywords: Rheum palmatum L. (dahuang); blood glucose; diabetes; inflammatory; oxidative stress; rhein (PubChem CID: 10168).

Publication types

Review

Grants and funding

This study was financially supported by the Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 82004212), the Key Research and Development Plan of Shandong Province (No. 2019GSF108168, No. 2019LYXZ037), and the Academic Promotion Program of Shandong First Medical University (No. 2019LJ001).