Therapeutic potential of non-starch polysaccharides on type 2 diabetes: from hypoglycemic mechanism to clinical trials

Abstract

Non-starch polysaccharides (NSPs) have been reported to exert therapeutic potential on managing type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Various mechanisms have been proposed; however, several studies have not considered the correlations between the anti-T2DM activity of NSPs and their molecular structure. Moreover, the current understanding of the role of NSPs in T2DM treatment is mainly based on in vitro and in vivo data, and more human clinical trials are required to verify the actual efficacy in treating T2DM. The related anti-T2DM mechanisms of NSPs, including regulating insulin action, promoting glucose metabolism and regulating postprandial blood glucose level, anti-inflammatory and regulating gut microbiota (GM), are reviewed. The structure-function relationships are summarized, and the relationships between NSPs structure and anti-T2DM activity from clinical trials are highlighted. The development of anti-T2DM medication or dietary supplements of NSPs could be promoted with an in-depth understanding of the multiple regulatory effects in the treatment/intervention of T2DM.

Graphical Abstract

Keywords:

• Diabetes
• dietary fiber
• inflammatory
• insulin resistance
• signaling pathway
• structure-function relationship

Author contributions

Conception and funding application was performed by Qinbing Guo. Literature research, and article writing was performed by Meng Xiao, Xing Jia, Qingbin Guo, and Huihuang Ding. Field experience and critical review of the article were contributed by Nifei Wang, Ji Kang, Xinzhong Hu, H. Douglas Goff, Steve W. Cui, Huihuang Ding, and Qingbin Guo. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

Disclosure statement

All authors reported no conflict of interest.

Correction Statement

This article has been corrected with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China under Grant (No. 32072173); State Key Laboratory of Food Nutrition and Safety, Tianjin University of Science & Technology, Tianjin, 300457, P.R.China under Grant (No. SKLFNS-KF-201913, SKLFNS-KF-202101 and SKLFNS-KF-202103); and Tianjin Science and Technology Program under Grant (NO. 19PTSYJC00040).