Study Progress in Effect of Traditional Chinese Medicine in Preventing and Treating Diabetes by Interfering Intestinal Flora / 中国实验方剂学杂志

ABSTRACT

With the development of urbanization and the change of lifestyle， people have gradually developed unhealthy living habits， such as high-fat diet and reduced physical activity， which promotes the increasing number of diabetes patients and becomes an escalating public health problem worldwide. Therefore， it is urgent to explore effective measures to prevent and treat diabetes. Recent studies have shown that intestinal flora is closely related to the occurrence and development of diabetes， making it a potential target for the treatment of diabetes. A healthy intestinal environment is an important internal environment for physiological and metabolic activities of the human body. Intestinal flora homeostasis is accompanied by physiological metabolic disorders of the body， such as induced metabolic endotoxemia， bile acid metabolism disorders and reduced production of short chain fatty acid （SCFA）， which leads to low-grade chronic inflammation and insulin resistance in the body that are important pathological processes of diabetes. Traditional Chinese medicine （TCM） has been used in the treatment of diabetes， with a remarkable curative effect. At present， there are extensive studies on the active ingredients of TCM and the compound of TCM for regulating structure of intestinal flora and improving symptoms of diabetes. A large number of studies have shown a dynamic two-way relationship between TCM and intestinal flora. Specifically， intestinal flora can transform TCM into polyphenols， alkaloids， saponins and other active substances with a pharmacological effect， in turn， these active ingredients can reverse the imbalance of intestinal microecology， and the recovery of intestinal flora imbalance can improve the symptoms of diabetes. It can be seen that intestinal flora is a bridge for TCM treatment of diabetes， which may be one of the mechanisms of TCM treatment of diabetes. This paper reviews the active ingredients of TCM and the compound of TCM in the treatment of diabetes， in order to provide reference for the exploration of prevention and treatment of diabetes.