Antidiabetic properties of dietary flavonoids: a cellular mechanism review

BACKGROUND: Natural food products have been used for combating human diseases for thousands of years. Naturally occurring flavonoids including flavones, flavonols, flavanones, flavonols, isoflavones and anthocyanidins have been proposed as effective supplements for management and prevention of diabetes and its long-term complications based on in vitro and animal models. AIM: To summarize the roles of dietary flavonoids in diabetes management and their molecular mechanisms. FINDINGS: Tremendous studies have found that flavonoids originated from foods could improve glucose metabolism, lipid profile, regulating the hormones and enzymes in human body, further protecting human being from diseases like obesity, diabetes and their complications. CONCLUSION: In the current review, we summarize recent progress in understanding the biological action, mechanism and therapeutic potential of the dietary flavonoids and its subsequent clinical outcomes in the field of drug discovery in management of diabetes mellitus.