20th Anniversary of Pharmaceuticals—Therapeutic Mechanisms of Nature Products against Insulin Resistance 2024

A special issue of Pharmaceuticals (ISSN 1424-8247). This special issue belongs to the section "Natural Products".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 25 November 2024 | Viewed by 9553

Special Issue Editors


E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Biocommunication in Cardio-Metabolism (BC2M), Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Montpellier, Montpellier, France
Interests: type 2 diabetes; obesity; pancreatic β-cells; insulin resistance; nitric oxide; oxidative stress; inflammation
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Qualisud, Faculty of Sciences, University of Montpellier, CIRAD, SupAgro, Montpellier, France
Interests: natural compounds; asteracea; caffeic acid derivatives; metabolic syndrome; type 2 diabetes; insulin resistance; antioxidant; inflammation
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Insulin resistance corresponds to a reduced responsiveness of insulin-sensitive tissues to physiological levels of insulin. This disorder is present in several diseases, such as metabolic syndrome, type 2 diabetes, nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and cardiovascular diseases. Insulin resistance is often recognized as the primary defect leading to type 2 diabetes. During early phases of diabetes, compensatory insulin hypersecretion allows insulin resistance to be counteracted and normoglycemia to be maintained. Thereafter, progressive pancreatic β-cell failure is responsible for a decrease in insulin secretion, leading to chronic hyperglycemia. The main drivers of insulin resistance are related to obesity, decreased exercise practices and the overconsumption of high-fat and high-carbohydrate food. To improve metabolic disorders, such as type 2 diabetes, pharmacological strategies include insulin sensitizers (biguanides, thiazolidinediones), insulin secretagogues (e.g., sulphonylureas), alphaglucosidase inhibitors and sodium–glucose co-transporter 2 inhibitors. Natural products are also a source of active compounds that could be useful tools to improve metabolic disorders in combination with pharmacological drugs. They can originate from plants, animals, fungus, algae, microorganisms, food ingredients and traditional medicine, and can act directly on insulin resistance to improve glucose homeostasis. They can target insulin-sensitive tissues, such as skeletal muscle, adipose tissues, liver or the cardiovascular system. Their mechanisms of action can identify molecular targets in order to use them in combination with other pharmacological drugs.We thus invite researchers to provide studies investigating the therapeutic mechanisms of natural products on target tissues that contribute to insulin resistance at cellular and molecular levels.

Prof. Dr. Anne-Dominique Lajoix
Dr. Didier Tousch
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Pharmaceuticals is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2900 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • insulin resistance
  • signaling pathways
  • liver
  • skeletal muscle
  • adipose tissues
  • traditional medicine
  • plants
  • fungus
  • algae
  • food ingredients

Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue

  • Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
  • Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
  • Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
  • External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
  • e-Book format: Special Issues with more than 10 articles can be published as dedicated e-books, ensuring wide and rapid dissemination.

Further information on MDPI's Special Issue polices can be found here.

Published Papers (3 papers)

Order results
Result details
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Review

29 pages, 7443 KiB  
Review
Mechanisms of Sepsis-Induced Acute Lung Injury and Advancements of Natural Small Molecules in Its Treatment
by Yaxi Xu, Jianzeng Xin, Yupei Sun, Xuyan Wang, Lili Sun, Feng Zhao, Changshan Niu and Sheng Liu
Pharmaceuticals 2024, 17(4), 472; https://doi.org/10.3390/ph17040472 - 8 Apr 2024
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1924
Abstract
Sepsis-induced acute lung injury (ALI), characterized by widespread lung dysfunction, is associated with significant morbidity and mortality due to the lack of effective pharmacological treatments available clinically. Small-molecule compounds derived from natural products represent an innovative source and have demonstrated therapeutic potential against [...] Read more.
Sepsis-induced acute lung injury (ALI), characterized by widespread lung dysfunction, is associated with significant morbidity and mortality due to the lack of effective pharmacological treatments available clinically. Small-molecule compounds derived from natural products represent an innovative source and have demonstrated therapeutic potential against sepsis-induced ALI. These natural small molecules may provide a promising alternative treatment option for sepsis-induced ALI. This review aims to summarize the pathogenesis of sepsis and potential therapeutic targets. It assembles critical updates (from 2014 to 2024) on natural small molecules with therapeutic potential against sepsis-induced ALI, detailing their sources, structures, effects, and mechanisms of action. Full article
Show Figures

Figure 1

11 pages, 1007 KiB  
Review
Terpenes from Cecropia Species and Their Pharmacological Potential
by Preslav Enchev, Yancho Zarev, Anzhelica Dakovska, Andrés Rivera-Mondragón, Ekaterina Kozuharova and Iliana Ionkova
Pharmaceuticals 2024, 17(3), 399; https://doi.org/10.3390/ph17030399 - 20 Mar 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1321
Abstract
Cecropia is a genus of neotropical trees mainly distributed in Mexico and Central and South America. Currently, 63 species have been described, some of which have been used for centuries in traditional medicine to treat conditions such as diabetes, high blood pressure, and [...] Read more.
Cecropia is a genus of neotropical trees mainly distributed in Mexico and Central and South America. Currently, 63 species have been described, some of which have been used for centuries in traditional medicine to treat conditions such as diabetes, high blood pressure, and wound healing, among others. In recent times, modern phytochemical studies have succeeded in isolating individual compounds with potential specific medicinal applications. This review aims to examine the literature data regarding isolated terpenes and their correlation with pharmacological activities, with the goal of unveiling the future potential of the genus. Full article
Show Figures

Figure 1

27 pages, 2398 KiB  
Review
Use of Medicinal Plants in the Process of Wound Healing: A Literature Review
by Mayra Cedillo-Cortezano, Luis Ruben Martinez-Cuevas, Jesús A. Márquez López, Ingrid L. Barrera López, Samantha Escutia-Perez and Vera L. Petricevich
Pharmaceuticals 2024, 17(3), 303; https://doi.org/10.3390/ph17030303 - 27 Feb 2024
Cited by 10 | Viewed by 5770
Abstract
The literature on the use of medicinal plants in wound healing was comprehensively searched to obtain and assess the data. The data were procured via clinical studies that utilized medicinal plants and their compounds in vitro and in vivo for wound healing. This [...] Read more.
The literature on the use of medicinal plants in wound healing was comprehensively searched to obtain and assess the data. The data were procured via clinical studies that utilized medicinal plants and their compounds in vitro and in vivo for wound healing. This review collected data from electronic databases, including Google Scholar, PubMed, Science Direct, Web of Science, SciFinder, Thesis, and Scopus, using the search terms “natural products”, “wound healing”, and “natural compounds”, along with the keywords “plants”, “extracts”, and “phytochemicals”. Results from the last decade reveal a total of 62 families and 109 genera of medicinal plants, and their compounds have been studied experimentally both in vivo and in vitro and clinically found to effectively promote healing. This activity is related to the presence of secondary metabolites such as flavonoids, alkaloids, saponins, tannins, terpenoids, and phenolic compounds, which act at different stages through different mechanisms to exert anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, and antioxidant effects, confirming that the use of medicinal plants could be an adequate alternative to current conventional practices for treating wounds. Full article
Show Figures

Graphical abstract

Back to TopTop