• Advances in Traditional Medicine
• /
• v.5 no.1
• /
• pp.1-15
• /
• 2005

Ginseng is a popular medicinal plant highly valued throughout the world. Asian ginseng is one of the most common species of ginseng. It has long occupied a significant position in oriental medicine and has been justified its name as the 'king herb'. As a nutritional supplement, ginseng is an extremely common and popular herbal medicine in the United States and Canada in recent decades. The multiple constituents of ginseng possess equally multifaceted pharmacological actions as demonstrated by numerous studies. Ginseng root and its constituents influenced the central nervous system, endocrine, cardiovascular, gastrointestinal system, sexual, renal organ and immune system, etc. One important action is its anti-hyperglycemic effect. Previous studies on ginseng demonstrate that only the root of ginseng has been used in the treatment of diabetes, while the other parts of ginseng plant were always neglected. Recently, we analyzed the constituents of ginseng berry, leaf and discovered that ginseng berry, leaf extracts and its total ginsenosides have the ability to reduce hyperglycemia and body weight and increase the peripheral glucose utilization in obese or diabetic ob/ob or db/db mice. Our data suggest that all parts of ginseng plant, including root, berry, leaf and stem exhibit potent anti-hyperglycemic and anti-obese effects and may provide an opportunity to develop a novel class of anti-diabetic agents.

• Journal of Pharmacopuncture
• /
• v.11 no.4
• /
• pp.65-77
• /
• 2008

Objective The purpose of this study was to analyze the directions of Korean Medicine treatment of diabetes mellitus. Methods We reviewed the 52 studies about diabetes mellitus which had been published from 2000 to 2007. We selected those studies from the search engine of the web site of five journals. Those were the Journal of Korean Oriental Medical Society, Korean Journal of Oriental Physiology & Pathology, the Journal of Korean Acupuncture & Moxibustion Society, Korean Journal of Oriental Internal Medicine and the Journal of Korean Pharmacopuncture Institute. Results 1. The types of diabetes mellitus model in studies were the model used Alloxan(2cases), the model used Streptozotocin(41cases), NOD mice(1case), ob/ob mice(1case), db/db mice(5cases) and rats fed highfat diet(2cases). 2. The types of method in studies were pharmacopuncture(8cases), herbal medcine(47case) and both pharmacopuncture and herbal medcine(3cases). the types of materials in studies were single herb(24cases), multiple herbs(32cases) and both single and multiple herbs(4cases). 3. The types of evaluation criteria in studies were glucose, pancreas, liver, kidney, serum lipid, oxidative stress, nervous system, vascular system and immunity. Conclusions There have been reported many studies of diabetes mellitus in Korean Medicine. It requires to study further types of diabetes mellitus, kinds of herbs and complications of diabetes mellitus for Korean Medicine treatment of diabetes mellitus was covered the ground.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
• /
• v.22 no.5
• /
• pp.400-405
• /
• 2014

G-protein coupled receptor 119 (GPR119) has emerged as a novel target for the treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus. GPR119 is involved in glucose-stimulated insulin secretion (GSIS) from the pancreatic b-cells and intestinal cells. In this study, we identified a novel small-molecule GPR119 agonist, HD047703, which raises intracellular cAMP concentrations in pancreatic ${\beta}$-cells and can be expected to potentiate glucose-stimulated insulin secretion from human GPR119 receptor stably expressing cells (CHO cells). We evaluated the acute efficacy of HD047703 by the oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) in normal C57BL/6J mice. Then, chronic administrations of HD047703 were performed to determine its efficacy in various diabetic rodent models. Single administration of HD047703 caused improved glycemic control during OGTT in a dose-dependent manner in normal mice, and the plasma GLP-1 level was also increased. With respect to chronic efficacy, we observed a decline in blood glucose levels in db/db, ob/ob and DIO mice. These results suggest that HD047703 may be a potentially promising anti-diabetic agent.