Abstract
Metformin is a biguanide compound originated from the extraction of goat’s rue plants, also known as Galega officinalis. The structure of metformin was identified by British scholars in the early 1920s, and its hypoglycemic effect was found through the study of galegine in 1950s. Metformin is a first-line drug for the treatment of type 2 diabetes, mainly used as an oral hypoglycemic drug in clinical practice, especially for obese patients with normal renal function. Metformin is able to reduce the levels of blood glucose and lipid as well as capable of regulating cell growth, anti-inflammation, antiaging, etc. The main pharmacological mechanisms involve the inhibition of hepatic gluconeogenesis, activation of AMPK, and regulation of mitochondrial function. With more and more novel pharmacological effects discovered besides hypoglycemic, the application prospect of metformin would be more optimistic.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Werner A, Bell J. CCX1V. The preparation of methylguanidine and of ââ-dimethylguanidine by the interaction of dicyanodiamide and methylammonium and dimethylammonium chlorides respectively. J Chem Soc Trans. 1922;121:1790–4.
Slotta KH, Tschesche R. Uber Biguanide. II. Die Blutzuckersenkende Wirkung der Biguanides. Ber Dtsch Chem Ges B: Abh. 1929;62:1398–405.
Bailey CJ, Day C. Metformin: its botanical background. Pract Diabetes Int. 2004;21(3):115–7.
Hall SS. A trial for the ages. Science. 2015;349(6254):1274–8.
Madiraju AK, Erion DM, Rahimi Y, et al. Metformin suppresses gluconeogenesis by inhibiting mitochondrial glycerophosphate dehydrogenase. Nature. 2014;510(7506):542–6.
Geerling JJ, Boon MR, van der Zon GC, et al. Metformin lowers plasma triglycerides by promoting VLDL-triglyceride clearance by brown adipose tissue in mice. Diabetes. 2014;63(3):880–91.
Morales DR, Morris AD. Metformin in cancer treatment and prevention. Annu Rev Med. 2015;66:17–29.
ClinicalTrials.gov [Internet]. Identifier NCT00287391, Metformin in Longevity Study (MILES). 2015.
Inzucchi SE, Bergenstal RM, Buse JB, et al. Management of hyperglycaemia in type 2 diabetes, 2015: a patient-centred approach. Update to a position statement of the American Diabetes Association and the European Association for the Study of Diabetes. Diabetologia. 2015;58(3):429–42.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2018 Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. and People's Medical Publishing House, PR of China
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Yang, XY., Du, GH. (2018). Metformin. In: Natural Small Molecule Drugs from Plants. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-8022-7_16
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-8022-7_16
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Singapore
Print ISBN: 978-981-10-8021-0
Online ISBN: 978-981-10-8022-7
eBook Packages: Biomedical and Life SciencesBiomedical and Life Sciences (R0)