Natural Remedies for Type 2 Diabetes: Evaluation of Phytochemicals with Bioinformatics and Molecular Approaches/ ADME/T Analysis

Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a rapidly spreading chronic disease worldwide, affecting more than 10% of the adult population. Type 2 diabetes (T2DM) accounts for the vast majority of DM cases and can lead to serious health complications. While current treatment options such as α-Glucosidase inhibitors are effective, new alternatives need to be explored due to absorption problems and side effects. In this context, natural compounds have significant potential. The antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and insulin sensitizing effects of phytochemicals offer a promising option in diabetes management. The therapeutic efficacy of phytochemicals can be determined using computational approaches, systems biology and network pharmacology. In this study, the interactions between important diabetes target proteins (1RE1, 5NJK, 5VK1, 5WBL and 6B1E) and phytochemicals (Catechine, 3′,4′-Di-O-benzyl-7-O-(2-hydroxyethyl)-3-O-methylquercetin, Retusapurpurin_A, Sakuranetin and Thevetiaflavone) were analyzed by molecular docking methods. The highest docking score values of -6.710, -6.173, -5.806 and -5.779 kcal/mol were found between 5VK1/catechine, 5NJK/3′,4′-Di-O-benzyl-7-O-(2-hydroxyethyl)-3-O-methylquercetin 6B1E/catechine and 5WBL/catechine, respectively. Furthermore, ADME/T calculations were performed to evaluate the pharmacokinetic properties of these compounds. The findings reveal the potential of natural compounds in the treatment of diabetes and aim at additional contributions of natural products to the treatment in the future.