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Saponin as regulator of biofuel: implication for ethnobotanical management of diabetes

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Abstract

There has been a sharp rise in the global prevalence of diabetes, obesity, and their comorbid conditions within the last decade prompting significant research into possible causes and cure via therapeutic intervention and lifestyle adjustments. Here, the molecular bases of antidiabetic plants used in the prehistorical treatment of diabetes and obesity are reviewed with particular focus on saponin as the phytotherapeutic principle. Until recently, the phytotherapeutic potentials of saponins have been masked in the heterogeneity of phytochemicals co-extractable during traditional preparations. With improved technique of purification and cutting edge biological assay methods, saponins have emerged as a regulator of primary biofuel availability through direct interaction with energy metabolism, cell signaling, and gene expression. Specific cases of lipoprotein lipase/peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR)-gamma/phosphatidylinositide 3-kinase (PI-3-K)/protein kinase B (Akt) activation, adiponectin gene upregulation, fatty acid binding protein 4 repression (FABP4), and glucose transporter type 4 (Glut4) membrane exocytosis have been documented which provide molecular basis for hypocholesterolemic, hypoglycemic, and anti-obesity manifestations observed in experimental animals following saponin treatment. Although intensified research is required to characterize the pharmacophoric features in saponins exhibiting these interactions, however, this preliminary lead is valuable if the world will be free of diabetes, obesity, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, and atherosclerosis in no distant future.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biochemistry, Adekunle Ajasin University, P.M.B 001, Akungba Akoko, Ondo State, Nigeria

    Olusola Olalekan Elekofehinti & Oluwamodupe Cecilia Ejelonu

  2. Department of Neuroscience, School of Biomedical Sciences, Nagasaki University, Nagasaki, Japan

    Idowu Olaposi Omotuyi

  3. Bioquímica Toxicology, Departmento de Química, CCNE, Universidade Federal de Santa Maria, Santa Maria, 97105-900, Brazil

    Olusola Olalekan Elekofehinti, Jean Paul Kamdem & João Batista Teixeira Rocha

  4. Departamento de Química, Universidade Estadual de Maringá, Paraná, Brazil

    Guimarae Vanessa Alves

  5. Department of Biochemistry, Ekiti State University, Ado Ekiti, Nigeria

    Isaac Gbadura Adanlawo

  6. Departamento de Bioquímica, Instituto de Ciências Básicas da Saúde, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, 90035-003, Brazil

    Jean Paul Kamdem

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  1. Olusola Olalekan Elekofehinti
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  2. Idowu Olaposi Omotuyi
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  3. Jean Paul Kamdem
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  4. Oluwamodupe Cecilia Ejelonu
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  5. Guimarae Vanessa Alves
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  6. Isaac Gbadura Adanlawo
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  7. João Batista Teixeira Rocha
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Correspondence to Olusola Olalekan Elekofehinti.

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Elekofehinti, O.O., Omotuyi, I.O., Kamdem, J.P. et al. Saponin as regulator of biofuel: implication for ethnobotanical management of diabetes. J Physiol Biochem 70, 555–567 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13105-014-0325-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13105-014-0325-4

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