International Journal of Molecular Medical Science, 2025, Vol.15, No.2, 80-88 http://medscipublisher.com/index.php/ijmms 80 Research Insight Open Access Study on the Role and Molecular Mechanisms of Yam Polysaccharides in Pre-Diabetes Intervention Lihui Xu, Tingting Feng, Keyan Fang Traditional Chinese Medicine Research Center, Cuixi Academy of Biotechnology, Zhuji, 311800, Zhejiang, China Corresponding author: keyan.fang@cuixi.org International Journal of Molecular Medical Science, 2025, Vol.15, No.2 doi: 10.5376/ijmms.2025.15.0008 Received: 31 Jan., 2025 Accepted: 07 Mar., 2025 Published: 29 Mar., 2025 Copyright © 2025 Xu et al., This is an open access article published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Preferred citation for this article: Xu L.H., Feng T.T., and Fang K.Y., 2025, Study on the role and molecular mechanisms of yam polysaccharides in pre-diabetes intervention, International Journal of Molecular Medical Science, 15(2): 80-88 (doi: 10.5376/ijmms.2025.15.0008) Abstract This study looks at yam polysaccharides (YPs)-what they are, how they are built, and what they can do. It also checks how they might help people who are close to getting diabetes. The findings show that YPs may help in many ways. They might lower blood sugar, ease swelling in the body, and fight harmful substances. YPs can also help insulin do its job and keep the pancreas safe. In addition, YPs are good for the gut. They help grow more helpful bacteria and raise the level of short-chain fatty acids, which are good for digestion and health. YPs also help manage blood sugar and improve how insulin works. They do this by turning on key systems in the body, such as the AMPK and PI3K/Akt pathways. This study offers some new thoughts on how to prevent or deal with pre-diabetes in the future. Keywords Yam polysaccharides; Pre-diabetes; Insulin sensitivity; Gut microbiota; AMPK pathway; PI3K/Akt pathway 1 Introduction Pre-diabetes means blood sugar is high but not high enough to be called diabetes. Around 470 million people in the world have this problem, and the number keeps growing. Each year, about 5%~10% of these people go on to develop type 2 diabetes. In the U.S., about one-third of adults have pre-diabetes, either known or unknown (van van Herpt et al., 2020). If pre-diabetes is not dealt with early, it can lead to several health problems. It can raise the chances of getting heart disease, kidney issues, and nerve harm. These troubles mostly happen because insulin doesn’t work right and the body stays inflamed for a long time. This makes healthcare harder, especially in poor places where more people are getting diabetes (Andes et al., 2019). At present, doctors usually tell people to live more healthily or take pills. These methods can help, but they are not always enough. Some medicines can cause bad reactions. And keeping up new routines for a long time can be tough (Mainous et al., 2014). So, we need better ways that are safe, simple, and match different lifestyles. Natural ways from plants might be useful. They could help manage blood sugar and be safer for long use. People in regions like Asia, Africa, and Latin America often eat yams. They are not just food but also used in local healing traditions (An et al., 2024). In these practices, yams help with belly pain, breathing trouble, and boost strength. Yams contain good stuff like fiber, vitamins, and antioxidants (Feng et al., 2022). Lately, researchers have started to focus more on the special sugars found in yams. These are called yam polysaccharides (YPs). They are a kind of big sugar molecule that might help the body. YPs can lower swelling, help the body fight sickness, and clean out harmful stuff (Yu et al., 2020). Other plant sugars, like those from mushrooms and ginseng, can also help with sugar levels and gut health. So, YPs may have similar results and are easier to use in places where yams are already common (Chen et al., 2019). Some early research shows that YPs might help manage sugar levels and improve how insulin works. In lab and animal studies, YPs brought down sugar levels, made insulin more effective, and reduced body swelling (Li et al., 2017). They do this by starting helpful body systems like AMPK and PI3K/Akt. AMPK helps cells use sugar better. PI3K/Akt helps move sugar transporters like GLUT4 to the edge of cells, so sugar can get in (Xiao et al., 2022).
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