Page 94 - 2025中醫藥與天然藥物聯合學術研討會-中醫藥與天然藥物的挑戰Ｘ機遇與未來大會手冊

From GLP-1 Receptor Agonists to Secretagogues: Natural Products as Novel

Incretin-Based Interventions for Metabolic Diseases

Hui-Kang Liu* ,1,2

1 Division of Basic Chinese Medicine, National Research Institute of Chinese Medicine
(NRICM), Ministry of Health and Welfare, Taipei, Taiwan
2 Ph. D. Program in the Clinical Drug Development of Herbal Medicine, Taipei Medical
University, Taipei, Taiwan.
* E-mail: hk.liu@nricm.edu.tw

Abstract
Incretin-based therapy has been widely applied in the management of metabolic diseases,

particularly type 2 diabetes and obesity. Among gut hormones, glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-
1) have been developed as anti-diabetic therapeutics due to their multifaceted biological
activities, including enhancing insulin secretion, protecting pancreatic β-cells via receptor
activation, and promoting weight loss. In parallel, inhibition of dipeptidyl peptidase-4 (DPP4)

represents another strategy to prolong endogenous GLP-1 activity. This presentation will
explore the potential of natural products in modulating incretin pathways for the treatment of
metabolic diseases, with emphasis on two case studies. The first highlights boschnaloside,
isolated from Boschniakia rossica (a traditional Chinese herb), which directly activates the

GLP-1 receptor and improves glucose metabolism in type 2 diabetic mice. The second focuses
on carotenoids from the aril of Momordica cochinchinensis (Gac fruit), which stimulate GLP-
1 secretion through the sweet taste receptor, thereby enhancing pancreatic function and
glycemic control in diabetic mice. Collectively, these findings indicate that natural products

provide multi-target strategies for incretin modulation, offering promising opportunities for the
development of novel therapies for type 2 diabetes.

Keywords: Natural products; Incretin regulation; GLP-1 receptor; DPP4 inhibition; Type 2
diabetes

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