Aloesin as a medical food ingredient for systemic oxidative stress of diabetes.

Diabetes is a chronic disease that requires a long term management where oxidative stress plays a pivotal role in disease progression and intensifying secondary complications. In spite of all the research on diabetes and recent advances in diabetes treatments, the reality is that there is no cure for diabetes and its devastating complications. While currently available anti-diabetic therapies are effective in reducing blood glucose level, they are not without associated side effects when they are used for a long term applications. As a result, physicians and patients are inclining more towards to a safer therapy with less serious side effects in the form of medicinal foods and botanical alternatives that are suitable for chronic usage. Aloesin, an Aloe chromone, has previously been formulated with an aloe polysaccharide to give a composition called Loesyn, where it showed significant impact in reducing glycosylated hemoglobin, fasting blood glucose, fructosamine and plasma insulin level in humans. Radical scavenging activities of chromones and polysaccharides from Aloe have also been reported. Here we rationalize the relevance of use of Aloesin alone or in a standardized blend with Aloe polysaccharides, as a potential medical food to manage systemic oxidative stress and/or high blood glucose of diabetes.