title: Insulin-like plant proteins as potential innovative drugs to treat diabetes-The Moringa oleifera case study.
abstract: Various plant species have long been used in traditional medicine worldwide to treat diabetes. Among the plant-based compounds with hypoglycemic properties, studies on insulin-like proteins isolated from leaves, fruits and seeds are rarely reported in the relevant literature. Our research group has been investigating the presence of insulin-like proteins in Moringa oleifera, a plant species native to India, and we have obtained a leaf protein isolate and semi-purified derived fractions, as well as a seed coat protein fraction (Mo-SC), with hypoglycemic activity in chemically induced diabetic mice that have increased tolerance to orally administered glucose. Equally importantly, Mo-SC possesses insulin-like antigenic epitopes. In this context, the present review aims to highlight that prospection of insulin-like proteins in plants is of the utmost importance both for finding new drugs for the treatment of diabetes and for shedding light on the mechanisms involved in diabetes.
authors.affiliation: Federal University of Ceara, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Campus do Pici, 60440-900, Fortaleza, CE, Brazil.
authors.forename: P C
authors.initials: PC
authors.lastname: Paula
authors.affiliation: Federal University of Ceara, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Campus do Pici, 60440-900, Fortaleza, CE, Brazil.
authors.forename: J T A
authors.initials: JTA
authors.lastname: Oliveira
authors.affiliation: Federal University of Ceara, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Campus do Pici, 60440-900, Fortaleza, CE, Brazil.
authors.forename: D O B
authors.initials: DOB
authors.lastname: Sousa
authors.affiliation: Federal University of Ceara, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Campus do Pici, 60440-900, Fortaleza, CE, Brazil.
authors.forename: B G T
authors.initials: BGT
authors.lastname: Alves
authors.affiliation: Federal University of Ceara, Department of Biology, Campus do Pici, 60440-900, Fortaleza, CE, Brazil.
authors.forename: A F U
authors.initials: AFU
authors.lastname: Carvalho
authors.affiliation: Catholic University of Brasilia, Center of Proteomical and Biochemical Analyses, Brasilia, DF, Brazil; Catholic University Dom Bosco, S-Inova, Biotechnology, Campo Grande, MS, Brazil.
authors.forename: O L
authors.initials: OL
authors.lastname: Franco
authors.affiliation: Federal University of Ceara, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Campus do Pici, 60440-900, Fortaleza, CE, Brazil. Electronic address: imvasco@ufc.br.
authors.forename: I M
authors.initials: IM
authors.lastname: Vasconcelos
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D003920:Diabetes Mellitus / Q000188:drug therapy*; D006801:Humans; D007328:Insulin / Q000737:chemistry / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D037102:Lectins / Q000627:therapeutic use; D029588:Moringa oleifera / Q000737:chemistry*; D018515:Plant Leaves / Q000737:chemistry; D010940:Plant Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000627:therapeutic use*
chemical_list: D007328:Insulin; D037102:Lectins; D010940:Plant Proteins
keywords: Diabetes therapy; Hypoglycemic protein; Insulin-like plant protein; Moringa; Prospection