Minireviews
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2019. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Meta-Anal. Nov 28, 2019; 7(9): 418-422
Published online Nov 28, 2019. doi: 10.13105/wjma.v7.i9.418
Mechanisms of action of aqueous extract from the Hunteria umbellata seed and metformin in diabetes
Oluwamodupe Cecilia Ejelonu
Oluwamodupe Cecilia Ejelonu, Department of Chemical Sciences, Biochemistry Programme, Ondo State University of Science and Technology, Okitipupa, Ondo State 23111, Nigeria
Author contributions: Ejelonu OC contributed solely to this work.
Conflict-of-interest statement: Author declares no conflicts of interest.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Oluwamodupe Cecilia Ejelonu, PhD, Lecturer, Department of Chemical Sciences, Biochemistry Programme, Ondo State University of Science and Technology, Okitipupa, Ondo State 23111, Nigeria. oc.ejelonu@osustech.edu.ng
Telephone: +234-803-2933605
Received: July 29, 2019
Peer-review started: July 29, 2019
First decision: August 20, 2019
Revised: October 20, 2019
Accepted: October 30, 2019
Article in press: October 30, 2019
Published online: November 28, 2019
Core Tip

Core tip: Herbs have been used for medicinal purposes since time is immemorial, although concerns exist about quality, safety, dosage and mechanism of action of herbal medicinal products. This mini review reveals some insights about the Hunteria umbellata seed, which is similar to metformin insulin secretagogue but with less side effects in diabetic subjects. Based on its beneficial roles that have been documented, none of the studies have evaluated the mechanisms involved. Therefore, researchers in this field who are passionate about drug design need to consider the pathways discussed below for the Hunteria umbellata seed. This may serve as a new therapeutic strategy for type-2 diabetes in place of metformin.