Whole grains-derived functional ingredients against hyperglycemia: targeting hepatic glucose metabolism

Abstract

Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is characterized by the dysregulation of glucose homeostasis, resulting in hyperglycemia. However, concerns have been raised about the safety and efficacy of current hypoglycemic drugs due to undesirable side effects. Increasing studies have shown that whole grains (WG) consumption is inversely associated with the risk of T2DM and its subsequent complications. Thus, dietary strategies involving functional components from the WG provide an intriguing approach to restoring and maintaining glucose homeostasis. This review provides a comprehensive understanding of the major functional components derived from WG and their positive effects on glucose homeostasis, demonstrates the underlying molecular mechanisms targeting hepatic glucose metabolism, and discusses the unclear aspects according to the latest viewpoints and current research. Improved glycemic response and insulin resistance were observed after consumption of WG-derived bioactive ingredients, which are involved in the integrated, multi-factorial, multi-targeted regulation of hepatic glucose metabolism. Promotion of glucose uptake, glycolysis, and glycogen synthesis pathways, while inhibition of gluconeogenesis, contributes to amelioration of abnormal hepatic glucose metabolism and insulin resistance by bioactive components. Hence, the development of WG-based functional food ingredients with potent hypoglycemic properties is necessary to manage insulin resistance and T2DM.

Keywords:

• Bioactive compounds
• whole grains
• hyperglycemia
• gluconeogenesis
• insulin resistance
• type 2 diabetes mellitus

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (32072254, 31900841, 32071166), the Ministry of Science and Technology of China (2020YFC1606804), the Young Eliet Scientists Sponsorship Program by CAST(2020QNRC001), Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (JUSRP221001), Collaborative Innovation Center of Food Safety and Quality Control in Jiangsu Province, Jiangnan University (2022-3-1), and the “Qing Lan Project in Jiangsu Province” program.