REVIEW article
Front. Pharmacol.
Sec. Ethnopharmacology
This article is part of the Research TopicMulti-Omics Insights into Autoimmune Diseases and Major Chronic Non-Communicable DiseasesView all 3 articles
The pathogenesis of diabetic kidney disease and the therapeutic potential of bioactive substances
Provisionally accepted
Yan Chen1,2,3
He Li1
Qiuju Dai1Zhen Tan1Huihui Wu3,4Zhiyi Xu3Guangwei Wang3,4Yang Fang4Jie Luo4Mingliang Huang3,4*
Chenghao Yu5
Cheng Peng5*- 1School of Public Health, Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu, Sichuan, 611137, China, Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu, China
- 2611137, State Key Laboratory of Southwestern Chinese Medicine Resources, Chengdu, China
- 3Sichuan Huashen Group Co.,Ltd, Chengdu ,610032, China, Chengdu, China
- 4Chengdu huasun technology group Inc, LTD, Chengdu , 611731,China, chengdu, China
- 5State Key Laboratory of Southwestern Chinese Medicine Resources, Chengdu ,611137, China, chengdu, China
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Diabetic kidney disease (DKD), one of the common complications of diabetes, is a major contributor to chronic kidney disease (CKD) worldwide. Due to its high incidence and disability rates, DKD poses a serious threat to human health and represents a significant public health burden. Although current treatments, such as angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors, are available, they remain limited in pharmacological effects. Medicinal plants are valuable resources for drug development, and their bioactive compounds have attracted considerable attention for their therapeutic potential in DKD. In this review, we systematically searched major scientific databases (e.g., PubMed) for studies published within key timeframes relevant to each topic. Keywords such as “DKD and oxidative stress” and “diabetic nephropathy and bioactive substances” were used to identify high-quality original research and review articles closely aligned with the theme of this work. Based on the selected literature, we summarize the pathogenic mechanisms of DKD and elucidate the therapeutic effects and mechanisms of bioactive substances—including polyphenols, peptides, polysaccharides, and flavonoids—in its treatment. A comparative analysis is also presented to provide a foundation for future pharmacological research on DKD.
Keywords: Diabetic kidney disease, Pathogenesis, Bioactive substance, Mechanism, Target point
Received: 19 Jul 2025; Accepted: 03 Nov 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Chen, Li, Dai, Tan, Wu, Xu, Wang, Fang, Luo, Huang, Yu and Peng. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Mingliang Huang, huangml@china-channel.com
Cheng Peng, cdtcmpengcheng@126.com
Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.