Role of bio-synthesized nanoparticles in enhancement of antidiabetic herbal treatments: a systematic review

Abstract

PurposeHerbal treatments have been used in management of diabetes for years; however, recent studies focused on innovative approaches. Hence, nanoparticles (NP) have been established to boost the efficacy, bioavailability, and safety of herbal treatments and we aimed to systematically review animal studies on diabetes that had used bio-synthetized NPs by medicinal herbs.MethodsWe performed a systematic search in PubMed and Web of Science with relevant keywords and synonyms for 'herbal treatment', 'in vivo', 'nanoparticles', and 'diabetes' up to September 2024. Based on the PRISMA guideline, we included animal studies that had employed bio-synthetized nanoparticles to ameliorate complications of diabetes.ResultsFrom a total of 315 studies, 55 animal studies were included for further investigations. Different herbal extracts had been used among included studies such as pomegranate, sore tea, fenugreek, etc. Golds, silver, copper, zinc, and selenium were reduced by herbal agents to synthesize nanoparticles. This study found that combining nanoparticles with herbal extracts can significantly improve different features of diabetes such as fasting blood glucose, serum insulin, and glycosylated hemoglobin, total cholesterol, triglycerides, oxidative stress, and inflammatory conditions.ConclusionThis study indicated that combining nanotechnology with herbal treatments can enhance the effectiveness of herbal treatments in improving diabetes hyperglycemia as well as other complications of diabetes such as dyslipidemia and oxidative stress; nevertheless, further high-quality clinical investigations are required.