Diabetes is an endocrine and metabolic disorder disease characterized by increase of plasma glucose level, and is called the three worldwide diseases together with cancers and cardiovascular diseases. According to the report of the International Diabetes Federation in 2017, there were about 451 million diabetes patients in the world, and the number is expected to skyrocket to 693 million in 2045. Diabetes is mainly divided into type 1 diabetes and type 2 diabetes: type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease that results from the destruction of pancreatic β cells, which 5%~10% diabetes patients have and is mainly treated depending on insulin, with the long-acting sustained-release preparations being the R&D focus of the pharmaceutical companies; 90% type 2 diabetes (T2DM) is a result of gene and environment, of which the main pathological mechanism is insulin resistance and the incidence has shown a rapid growing trend in recent years. In terms of T2DM treatment, the hypoglycemic effects of Western medicines are significant, however, long-term use will easily cause many adverse reactions such as ketoacidosis, obesity, hypoglycemia, and cardiovascular diseases.
