Role of mushrooms in gestational diabetes mellitus

Many studies have shown that plant-based diets and Mediterranean diets can lower the risk of development of gestational diabetes mellitus. Plants have been the main source of medicines since ancient times. Despite tremendous advances in medicinal chemistry, synthetic drugs have not provided cures to many diseases due to their adverse side effects or diminution in response after prolonged use. Medicinal mushrooms have been used traditionally as an anti-diabetic food for centuries especially in countries such as China, Japan, India and Korea. These are source of natural bioactive compounds. The bioactive constituents are polysaccharides, proteins, dietary fibres, lectins, lactones, alkaloids, terpenoids, sterols and phenolic compounds which have various health benefits. This review will focus on recent examples of diverse types of mushrooms that have been validated by scientific evaluation as having promising activity for the prevention and/or treatment of gestational diabetes mellitus. Dietary components and plant-derived molecules can be used in the future to complement current treatment strategies for gestational diabetes mellitus.