Traditional Chinese Medicine Applications in Type 2 Diabetes Management

Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) presents a growing global health burden, marked by chronic hyperglycaemia, insulin resistance and progressive β-cell dysfunction. Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) offers a holistic, multi-component approach that complements conventional therapies through herbal formulas, single-herb prescriptions and isolated active compounds. These treatments act on multiple targets and pathways to improve glucose transport and utilisation, enhance insulin sensitivity, protect pancreatic islets, modulate intestinal flora and mitigate inflammation. Formulations such as Jinlida granules, Gegen Qinlian Decoction and Dachaihu Decoction exemplify the integration of traditional theory with modern pharmacology, yielding clinical benefits in glycaemic control, symptom relief and the prevention of diabetes-related complications. Rigorous clinical trials and systems-level studies increasingly elucidate the molecular mechanisms underpinning TCM efficacy, supporting its growing role within comprehensive T2DM management strategies worldwide.

Research from Nature Portfolio

Recent systems pharmacology research has dissected the complex actions of a well-known herbal formula used in T2DM. By integrating databases of traditional herbs with genomic and protein-interaction resources, investigators identified over 180 active compounds and mapped more than 300 potential targets related to glucose metabolism and diabetic complications. A protein–protein interaction network analysis highlighted key nodes—including AKT1, TNF and IL-6—while pathway enrichment pointed to PI3K-AKT and AGE-RAGE signalling as central mediators. Subsequent molecular docking and dynamics simulations confirmed strong binding affinities between specific herbal constituents and these targets, providing a mechanistic basis for the anti-diabetic and anti-inflammatory effects of the formula and guiding future prioritisation of active natural products.

Traditional Chinese Medicine Applications in Type 2 Diabetes Management publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in traditional chinese medicine applications in type 2 diabetes management across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

HbA1c: average blood glucose over the preceding two to three months, expressed as the proportion of glycated haemoglobin.

GLP-1: glucagon-like peptide 1, an incretin hormone that enhances insulin secretion in response to nutrient ingestion.

HOMA-IR: homeostatic model assessment of insulin resistance, calculated from fasting insulin and glucose levels to estimate insulin sensitivity.

PI3K-AKT signalling pathway: an intracellular cascade critical for regulating glucose uptake, cell growth and survival in response to insulin.

Protein–protein interaction (PPI) network: a schematic representation of the physical or functional associations among proteins, used to identify key regulatory nodes in disease mechanisms.

References

1. Dilemmas in Elderly Diabetes and Clinical Practice Involving Traditional Chinese Medicine. Pharmaceuticals (2024).
2. Jinlida granules combined with metformin improved the standard-reaching rate of blood glucose and clinical symptoms of patients with type 2 diabetes: secondary analysis of a randomized controlled trial. Frontiers in Endocrinology (2023).
3. Evidence of traditional Chinese medicine for treating type 2 diabetes mellitus: from molecular mechanisms to clinical efficacy. Pharmaceutical Biology (2024).
4. Exploring the mechanism of Jinlida granules against type 2 diabetes mellitus by an integrative pharmacology strategy. Scientific Reports (2024).
5. Herbal Formula Gegen‐Qinlian Decoction for Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus: A Meta‐Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials. Evidence-based Complementary and Alternative Medicine (2020).
6. The efficacy and safety of dachaihu decoction in the treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Frontiers in Pharmacology (2022).