Impacts of Plant-derived Secondary Metabolites for Improving Flora in Type 2 Diabetes

Background Diabetes has become a problem that plagues public healthcare systems. Recent studies have shown that intestinal flora exerts positive therapeutic effects on metabolic diseases, and plant-derived secondary metabolites are safe, effective and easy to prepare and also have an impact on intestinal flora and diabetes; these drugs have rarely been reviewed before as a class of drugs for diabetes, especially focusing on the intestinal flora. Therefore, studying the relationship between plant-derived secondary metabolites and diabetes mellitus is crucial. Objective The objective of this study is to summarize and investigate the therapeutic mechanism of drugs extracted from natural plants effects on type 2 diabetes mellitus. Methods The relationship between flora and type 2 diabetes was investigated by reviewing the recent experimental literature, and the pathways available for natural plant-derived secondary metabolites in the treatment of type 2 diabetes were summarized. Results The therapeutic mechanisms of common plant-derived secondary metabolites for type 2 diabetes were summarized with a focus on the prebiotic efficacy of natural plant-derived secondary metabolites and the modulation of intestinal flora, and the mechanisms through which plant-derived secondary metabolites treat type 2 diabetes via effects on intestinal flora are further reviewed. Conclusion Common plant-derived secondary metabolites can play a role in regulating bacteria in the intestinal tract by enriching beneficial bacteria and removing harmful bacteria to achieve their therapeutic effect on type 2 diabetes. In addition, due to their excellent ability to regulate intestinal flora, plant-derived secondary metabolites may also have excellent efficacy in cancer and obesity, among other diseases.