Anthocyanin: Potential tool for diabetes management and different delivery aspects

The incidence of Diabetes Mellitus (DM), where the body gets obstructed from utilizing glucose completely or partially, is perilously increasing every year. This can be due to failure in the development of insulin or its action on glucose. Thus, new approaches are needed to combat this chronic metabolic disorder. Particularly, foods originating from plants contain a variety of bioactive components, mainly anthocyanins (ACNs). ACNs are water-soluble pigments of the polyphenolic family with broader food applications and potential therapeutic advantages, including treating DM and interfering with diabetes using pathways. The current review focuses on anthocyanin properties and its influence on diabetes mellitus with natural sources and commercially available products of ACN as well as provides an overview of recent advances in anthocyanin extraction for their stability and the frequently used ACN-based delivery system. Numerous studies reveal that anthocyanins have beneficial impacts on glucose metabolism, antioxidant activity, and anti-inflammatory properties through a variety of mechanisms, including the PI3K/AKT pathway, inhibition of the P38 MAPK pathway, and others. Therefore, the researchers are concentrating on the frequently used bio-based encapsulation materials, their formulation techniques for ACN-based delivery systems, and their specific target release. The extraction, encapsulation, storage, and delivery of ACNs appear to benefit from the application of advanced technology. Thus, new formulations for the delivery system of ACN could provide greater stability of anthocyanins for nutraceutical purposes.