Anti-diabetic properties and bioactive compounds of Teucrium polium L

Diabetes mellitus is a common metabolic disease with considerable morbidity and mortality. Untreated or improperly-treated diabetes can be associated with several long-term complications that necessitate an effective way to manage diabetes. Due to the side effects of synthetic glucose-lowering agents, alternative therapeutic modalities such as medicinal plants have attracted notable attention. Teucrium polium L. is a medicinal herb with antioxidant, antinociceptive, anti-inflammatory, hypolipidemic, hepatoprotective, and hypoglycemic properties. In vitro and in vivo studies have been conducted to characterize the anti-diabetic properties of Teucrium polium L. and its bioactive compounds. We conducted a literature study using Scopus, PubMed, and Google Scholar including the keywords "diabetes" and "Teucrium polium". We also scanned all the references cited by the retrieved articles. According to this review, Teucrium polium administration displayed anti-diabetic effects by targeting different mechanisms and pathways, such as enhancement of insulin secretion and insulin level, improvement of oxidative damage, regeneration of pancreatic β-cells, and promotion of glucose uptake in muscle tissues by increasing GLUT-4 translocation as well as inhibiting α-amylase activity. Although Teucrium polium has been widely regarded as a traditional method, the pharmacological studies on anti-diabetic effects are not sufficient, most studies are either in-vivo or in-vitro. The preclinical and clinical studies are further required to confirm the efficacy of Teucrium polium.

Role of C-fibers during acute and chronic stress on formalin-induced paw edema in rats.

Stimulation of peripheral nociceptors leads to releasing of some mediators such as substance P (SP) and Calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) and contributes to the edema formation by vasodilatation induction. On the other hand glucocorticoids have anti-inflammatory action, and they are elevated in the plasma during stress. This communication reports C-fibers inflammatory role and the effects of chronic and acute stress and/or dexamethasone (as stress mimicry) on paw edema induced by formalin at presence/deficit C-fibers rats. Acute stress and dexamethasone and chronic dexamethasone have shown an anti-inflammatory effect in C-normal groups, but chronic stress had no effect on inflammation. C-fibers reduction (C-lesion) had anti-inflammatory effects. In deficit C-fibers rats, acute and chronic stress had not stronger anti-inflammatory effect, but acute dexamethasone reduced the anti-inflammatory effect of C-fibers reduction while in the same condition, chronic dexamethasone induced stronger anti-inflammatory effect. The results show C-fiber nerve produce and release the peripheral inflammatory mediators, "C-fibers reduction" decreased the paw inflammation. Counter adaptation in C-lesion animals may reduce the modulatory effects of dexamethasone on the remaining C-fibers. Acute dexamethasone diminished the "C-fibers reduction" anti-inflammatory effect, but at chronic treatment, the modulatory effects of dexamethasone aggregated and it augmented the C-fibers reduction anti-inflammatory effect.