Mechanism of Ganoderma lucidum polysaccharides in the mangement of diabetes and its complications

Characterized by a total or partial shortage of insulin, diabetes is a chronic metabolic condition. Its widespread occurrence and related complications present a significant global public health issue. Ganoderma lucidum (Curtis) P. Karst. 1881 (Polyporaceae), a valuable traditional Chinese medicine, contains polysaccharides as its primary active metabolites. Polysaccharides exhibit virous pharmacological properties including hypoglycemic, hypolipidemic, immunomodulatory, and anti-tumor effects. Although recent research has increasingly investigated the potential of G. lucidum polysaccharides (GLPs) to manage diabetes and its complications, a systematic integration of these findings is lacking. The review comprehensively summarizes relevant literature retrieved from databases including PubMed, Sci-Hub, Science Direct, Scopus, and Open Access Library. GLPs demonstrates defensive impacts against diabetes and its associated complications including nephropathy, hepatopathy, cardiomyopathy, refractory wound healing, neuropathy, retinopathy, and erectile dysfunction--through mechanisms involving oxidative stress modulation, glucolipid metabolism regulation, anti-apoptosis, islet cells repair, and the gut microbiota remodeling. Furthermore, drug combination strategies and novel formulation development represent promising directions for future applications This review provides a theoretical foundation for the advancement of effective and low toxicity natural therapies for diabetes based on GLPs.