Oral Delivery of Antidiabetic Polypeptide-k: Journey so far and the Road Ahead

The prevalence of diabetes mellitus is growing rapidly. According to the global report of International Diabetes Fedration (IDF), about 382 million people are suffering from diabetes and among them, 90% cases were of type-II. By 2035, it is expected that this number will reach to 592 million. In the last 5 decades, various efforts have been put towards the development of synthetic medicines or synergistic combination of herbal and synthetic medicines to treat diabetes mellitus. Polypeptide-k is an antihyperglycaemic protein isolated from dried seeds collected from ripened fruits of Momordica charantia. Extensive research has been carried out in the last fifteen years on polypeptide-k to explore its potential applications for the treatment of both types of diabetes mellitus. This review highlights the available marketed formulations and research investigations conducted on humans to prove the potential of polypeptide-k as an antihyperglycaemic agent. This article also marks the reasons and need for oral delivery of polypeptide-k.