Plant-derived biologically active compounds as medicines have played an important role in the health care of highly modernized societies. Ayurvedic, Indian medicine, traditional Chinese medicine, or Japanese herbal medicine uses herbal medicines or details to treat a variety of illnesses (Yuan et al., 2016). Herbs are a source of crude medicine used to treat essentially regular pathological conditions or to achieve or maintain a high degree of health. Over 8000 phenolic compounds isolated from therapeutic plants are currently used in phytotherapy (Fierascu et al., 2020). Various metabolites derived from plant sources are known, including flavonoids, terpenoids, sterols, and phenolic compounds are known to treat a variety of chronic illnesses, including diabetes (Rasouli et al., 2017; Habtemariam, 2018).
The American Diabetes Association classifies diabetes into four different subtypes: type 1 diabetes non-incident or type 2 diabetes T2DM. Type III diabetes in inpatients who are specifically diagnosed during the post-pregnancy period. or other types of diabetes that were not included in the previous form (American Diabetes Association, 2021). Type I diabetes, which accounts for about 10% of diabetics, is due to the cellular autoimmune destruction of insulin-secreting cells (pancreatic β-cells). Type I diabetes is affected by nearly 40 loci, and genetic mutations in the Class II HLA gene can affect the level of immune response to β-cell autoantigens in the pancreas and promote an abnormal immune response (Concannon et al., 2009. The cause of type II diabetes is not clearly defined. However, it is always associated with the misreading of glucose signals by beta cells. It is the most common form of DM characterized by insulin resistance in peripheral tissues, and β-cell insulin deficiency is due to interactions between genetic, environmental, and behavioural risk factors (Aklam et al., 2021).
The antihyperglycemic effects that result from treatment with plants are primarily due to their ability to improve the performance of pancreatic tissue. This is achieved by increasing insulin secretion or reducing intestinal absorption of glucose by delaying the absorption of carbohydrates, it suppresses the rise in blood sugar levels after meals (Röder et al., 2016). A variety of natural and synthetic α-amylase and α-glucosidase inhibitors (AGI) have been used in the treatment of type 2 diabetes via inhibiting the absorption of carbohydrates from the small intestine by competitively inhibiting the enzymes that convert complex non-absorbable carbohydrates into simple absorbable carbohydrates (Dirir et al., 2021). AGI are effective in patients with type 2 diabetes by improving their metabolic profile and potentially reducing the risk of long-term complications of hyperglycaemia. They can be used as monotherapy or in combination with other hypoglycaemic agents and insulin (Li et al., 2022).
Tinospora cordifolia (Willd.) Miers, vernacularly known as "Guduchi" or Giloy is a deciduous shrub which belongs to the family Menispermaceae which has numerous ethnomedicinal applications (Singh et al., 2021). Various plant-derived active compounds from tinospora such as alkaloids, steroids, diterpenoid lactones, aliphatics, and glycosides are isolated from different parts of the plant, including roots, stems, and whole plants (Sharma et al., 2021). Various phytoconstituents derived from Tinospora are reported to have immunomodulatory (Yates et al., 2022), anti-arthritis, antioxidant, anti-allergic (Tiwari et al., 2016), cardio protection (Sharma et al., 2011) and various oxidative induced stresses (Arunachalam et al., 2021) etc. The present study elucidates the use of phytoconstituents from Tinospora cardiofolia as potential drug molecule against α-amylase and α-glucosidase and their probable mechanism of interaction with α-amylase and α-glucosidase for treatment of diabetes
