Frontiers in Bioscience-Elite (FBE) is published by IMR Press from Volume 13 Issue 2 (2021). Previous articles were published by another publisher on a subscription basis, and they are hosted by IMR Press on imrpress.com as a courtesy and upon agreement with Frontiers in Bioscience.
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Type 2 diabetes is a common metabolic disorder characterized by resistance to the actions of insulin to stimulate skeletal muscle glucose disposal. In light of the staggering financial/human cost of type 2 diabetes, there is considerable need for safe and effective agents that can be used to prevent and/or adjunctively treat the disease. Available evidence suggests that a number of natural supplements, including cinnamon, biotin, fenugreek, ginseng, banaba, and alpha-lipoic acid, have the potential to reduce the risk for type 2 diabetes in the large at-risk population. The evidence also suggests that, when used adjunctively, these natural products are likely to help clinicians achieve optimal glycemic control, improve long-term prognosis, and/or minimize the need for insulin therapy in type 2 diabetics. More research, particularly well-designed, long-term human clinical trials, is certainly needed to accurately define the value and place of these supplements in diabetes prevention and management.