Insulin-like plant proteins as potential innovative drugs to treat diabetes—The Moringa oleifera case study
2017
Paula, P.C. | Oliveira, J.T.A. | Sousa, D.O.B. | Alves, B.G.T. | Carvalho, A.F.U. | Franco, O.L. | Vasconcelos, I.M.
Various plant species have long been used in traditional medicine worldwide to treat diabetes. Among the plant-based compounds with hypoglycemic properties, studies on insulin-like proteins isolated from leaves, fruits and seeds are rarely reported in the relevant literature. Our research group has been investigating the presence of insulin-like proteins in Moringa oleifera, a plant species native to India, and we have obtained a leaf protein isolate and semi-purified derived fractions, as well as a seed coat protein fraction (Mo-SC), with hypoglycemic activity in chemically induced diabetic mice that have increased tolerance to orally administered glucose. Equally importantly, Mo-SC possesses insulin-like antigenic epitopes. In this context, the present review aims to highlight that prospection of insulin-like proteins in plants is of the utmost importance both for finding new drugs for the treatment of diabetes and for shedding light on the mechanisms involved in diabetes.
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