International Journal of Molecular Medical Science, 2025, Vol.15, No.2, 80-88 http://medscipublisher.com/index.php/ijmms 82 All these parts of YPs-the sugars, the weight, the shape-work together to make them helpful. That’s why keeping their structure during extraction and processing is so important if we want to use them for pre-diabetes care. 3 Biological Activities of Yam Polysaccharides Relevant to Pre-Diabetes Yam polysaccharides (YPs) are active plant compounds that may help with problems linked to pre-diabetes. They do many things—like lowering blood sugar, fighting inflammation, and acting as antioxidants. These actions could make them useful for dealing with early signs of diabetes. 3.1 Hypoglycemic and insulin sensitizing effects One big plus of YPs is that they can help lower blood sugar. This is really useful for people with pre-diabetes. In animal tests, YPs brought down fasting blood sugar. They did this by making enzymes like hexokinase (HK) and succinate dehydrogenase (SDH) work better. These enzymes help the body break down sugar (Yang et al., 2010). YPs also work on something called the PI3K/Akt pathway. This helps insulin do its job. YPs help move a protein called GLUT4 to the outside of cells. That protein pulls sugar into cells, especially in muscle and fat (Feng et al., 2022). Some research says YPs might even act like insulin. They may help insulin work better or stick to insulin receptors (Cheng et al., 2019). So YPs could be a natural way to help people use insulin more easily. 3.2 Antioxidant properties Oxidative stress, marked by an imbalance between free radicals and antioxidants, plays a significant role in insulin resistance and the progression of pre-diabetes(Zong and Xu, 2024). Li et al. (2022) found that YPs had significant antioxidant activity against antioxidant damage (Figure 1), which is crucial for maintaining islet β -cell function and protecting insulin sensitivity. Studies show that YPs can directly scavenge free radicals such as hydroxyl, superoxide, and DPPH radicals, effectively reducing oxidative stress markers in diabetic animal models (Xue et al., 2019). Figure 1 Effects of CYP on the H2O2 induced MAPK pathway of IEC-6 cells (Adopted from Li et al., 2022) Image caption: When cells were hit by H₂O₂, the MAPK pathway became very active. But when treated with CYP, this pathway calmed down, especially at higher doses. That means CYP may lower stress inside the cells and stop damage and cell death from happening (Li et al., 2022) YPs not only catch harmful free radicals on their own, but they also help the body produce more of its own antioxidants, such as SOD and CAT (Wang et al., 2020). These enzymes help clear out harmful substances in the body. When their levels go up, things like MDA-which shows cell harm-go down (Zhao et al., 2005). This helps protect the cells that make insulin and stops them from dying.
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