Hypoglycemic effect of important edible and medicinal fungi polysaccharides: a review

Abstract:

Currently, the prevalence of disorders of glucose metabolism is soaring seriously, especially diabetes. Polysaccharides of edible and medicinal fungi are focused since they exhibit significant benefits against diabetes. However, the mechanisms of them against diabetes are not reviewed well. In this paper, we reviewed the hypoglycemic mechanisms of polysaccharides of edible and medicinal fungi against glucose disorders, taking protein tyrosine phosphatase-1B (PTP-1B) inhibition, insulin pathway regulation, glucose metabolism promotion and gluconeogenesis inhibition, anti-oxidation and anti-inflammation and regulation of intestinal microbiota as examples. However, glucose disorders were not only due to the mutations of key genes or the dysfunctions of key targets, but also caused by multiple abnormalities in overall metabolism. Thus, metabolomics emerged as a new tool for unveiling the mechanisms of polysaccharides of edible and medicinal fungi, since its priorities of probing the systematic changes. Based on it, it was found that polysaccharides of edible and medicinal fungi may ameliorate gluconeogenesis and insulin resistance by modulating amino acid metabolism, relieve cytotoxicity, oxidative stress and inflammation by regulating fatty acid metabolism, maintain serum glucose and microbiota homeostasis by regulating bile acids and ameliorate nephropathy in diabetes by modulating nucleotide metabolism. Combining the considerations of overall mechanisms and key targets may benefit the drug developing of polysaccharides against glucose disorders.