Finding Needles in a Haystack: Application of Network Analysis and Target Enrichment Studies for the Identification of Potential Anti-Diabetic Phytochemicals

Diabetes mellitus is a debilitating metabolic disorder and remains a significant threat to public health. Herbal medicines have been proven to be effective anti-diabetic agents compared to synthetic drugs in terms of side effects. However, the complexity in their chemical constituents and mechanism of action, hinder the effort to discover novel anti-diabetic drugs. Hence, understanding the biological and chemical basis of pharmacological action of phytochemicals is essential for the discovery of potential anti-diabetic drugs. Identifying important active compounds, their protein targets and the pathways involved in diabetes would serve this purpose. In this context, the present study was aimed at exploring the mechanism of action of anti-diabetic plants phytochemicals through network and chemical-based approaches. This study also involves a focused and constructive strategy for preparing new effective anti-diabetic formulations. Further, a protocol for target enrichment was proposed, to identify novel protein targets for important active compounds. Therefore, the successive use of network analysis combined with target enrichment studies would accelerate the discovery of potential anti-diabetic phytochemicals.