The International Diabetes Federation (IDF) estimates that 382 million adults worldwide suffer from diabetes. The prevalence of diabetes has reached significantly high rates and is expected to reach 592 million by 2035. With an aging population, urbanization and changes in lifestyles lead to a rapid increase in what can be considered an epidemic wave of diabetes along with other chronic diseases. Even if 50% of all diabetic patients are diagnosed, most do not receive appropriate treatment and many do not achieve treatment goals, which as a tragic result, few diabetic patients can actually survive without complications. Of note, delayed diagnosis and inadequate treatment options being offered can lead to serious and very costly complications. Obesity is a major factor in the occurrence of high blood pressure and hyperlipidemia. The World Health Organization (WHO) has defined obesity as an increase in the amount of fat in the body that adversely affects health. And contrary to common belief, obesity is not an excess of body weight, but a higher-than-normal body fat ratio. Furthermore, overweight and obesity are strongly associated with type 2 diabetes and other chronic diseases, with obesity being a major risk factor for many chronic diseases, including diabetes. According to recent data, it can be said that there is a cycle happening between obesity and diabetes, meaning that both can actually trigger each other. Some drugs or procedures that are currently being used in the management of diabetes include diet and exercise, insulin sensitizing agents, insulin secretagogues, and carbohydrate absorption or excretion-modulating agents.
On the other hand, more conventional approaches to achieve weight control are setting up an exercise program, regulating eating habits and behavior management, weight-loss medicines and bariatric surgery among many others.
Diabetes has ranked 15th among the leading worldwide causes of early death in 2016, and notably predictions indicate that this ranking will likely change, and diabetes will rise to seventh place by 2040. According to WHO data, more than 1 million people die every year from obesity related diseases and complications. Therefore, in order to improve the management of obesity and diabetes, the discovery of new and diverse therapeutic agents is becoming more and more crucial.
The aim of this Topic is showcase in vitro and in vivo studies on novel natural compounds being developed for therapeutic to manage diabetes and weight control in order to evaluate and better understand the structure-activity relationships behind these natural compounds and their potential to serve as new therapeutic targets.
With this Research Topic, we welcome submission of Original Research and Review articles that investigate the use of natural compounds targeting weight control and diabetes treatment, including but not limited to the following topics:
• Antidiabetic potentials (in vivo, in vitro activity models and clinical trials) of natural compounds.
• Antiobesity activity (in vivo, in vitro activity models and clinical trials) of natural compounds.
• Synthesis procedures of potential natural antidiabetic or anti-obesity compounds.
• Elucidating the mechanism of action.
• Structure-activity relationship.
• Drug designing studies.
• Molecular docking studies that also include an experimental component.
Important note: All manuscripts submitted to this collection will need to follow the Guidelines for the conception/peer-review of submissions of the Experimental Pharmacology and Drug Discovery Section. Studies carried out with crude extracts/multiherbal preparations or Original Research based solely on in silico techniques will not be considered for review.
The International Diabetes Federation (IDF) estimates that 382 million adults worldwide suffer from diabetes. The prevalence of diabetes has reached significantly high rates and is expected to reach 592 million by 2035. With an aging population, urbanization and changes in lifestyles lead to a rapid increase in what can be considered an epidemic wave of diabetes along with other chronic diseases. Even if 50% of all diabetic patients are diagnosed, most do not receive appropriate treatment and many do not achieve treatment goals, which as a tragic result, few diabetic patients can actually survive without complications. Of note, delayed diagnosis and inadequate treatment options being offered can lead to serious and very costly complications. Obesity is a major factor in the occurrence of high blood pressure and hyperlipidemia. The World Health Organization (WHO) has defined obesity as an increase in the amount of fat in the body that adversely affects health. And contrary to common belief, obesity is not an excess of body weight, but a higher-than-normal body fat ratio. Furthermore, overweight and obesity are strongly associated with type 2 diabetes and other chronic diseases, with obesity being a major risk factor for many chronic diseases, including diabetes. According to recent data, it can be said that there is a cycle happening between obesity and diabetes, meaning that both can actually trigger each other. Some drugs or procedures that are currently being used in the management of diabetes include diet and exercise, insulin sensitizing agents, insulin secretagogues, and carbohydrate absorption or excretion-modulating agents.
On the other hand, more conventional approaches to achieve weight control are setting up an exercise program, regulating eating habits and behavior management, weight-loss medicines and bariatric surgery among many others.
Diabetes has ranked 15th among the leading worldwide causes of early death in 2016, and notably predictions indicate that this ranking will likely change, and diabetes will rise to seventh place by 2040. According to WHO data, more than 1 million people die every year from obesity related diseases and complications. Therefore, in order to improve the management of obesity and diabetes, the discovery of new and diverse therapeutic agents is becoming more and more crucial.
The aim of this Topic is showcase in vitro and in vivo studies on novel natural compounds being developed for therapeutic to manage diabetes and weight control in order to evaluate and better understand the structure-activity relationships behind these natural compounds and their potential to serve as new therapeutic targets.
With this Research Topic, we welcome submission of Original Research and Review articles that investigate the use of natural compounds targeting weight control and diabetes treatment, including but not limited to the following topics:
• Antidiabetic potentials (in vivo, in vitro activity models and clinical trials) of natural compounds.
• Antiobesity activity (in vivo, in vitro activity models and clinical trials) of natural compounds.
• Synthesis procedures of potential natural antidiabetic or anti-obesity compounds.
• Elucidating the mechanism of action.
• Structure-activity relationship.
• Drug designing studies.
• Molecular docking studies that also include an experimental component.
Important note: All manuscripts submitted to this collection will need to follow the Guidelines for the conception/peer-review of submissions of the Experimental Pharmacology and Drug Discovery Section. Studies carried out with crude extracts/multiherbal preparations or Original Research based solely on in silico techniques will not be considered for review.
