Targeting ferroptosis with natural products: Investigating promising agents for treating diabetes and its complications

The global rise in diabetes mellitus and its related complications represents a major threat to public health. Existing treatments for diabetes and its complications primarily focus on symptom management, with a significant gap in effective therapies for diabetic complications that can lead to mortality. This highlights the urgent need for more effective and safer treatment options. Recent studies have revealed a strong connection between ferroptosis and the progression of diabetes and its complications, suggesting that preventing or inhibiting ferroptosis could represent a groundbreaking strategy in diabetes management. Natural products (NPs), known for their ability to target multiple pathways, sustainability, and minimal toxicity, have gained significant interest as potential ferroptosis inhibitors for diabetes treatment. This review provides an in-depth overview of preclinical and clinical research on 41 NPs that target ferroptosis, including their nano-formulations, exploring their mechanisms and potential as novel therapeutic agents for managing diabetes and its complications.