SynthesisPeerJ2025
Emodin, a rising star in the treatment of glycolipid metabolism disorders: a preclinical systematic review and meta-analysis.
Synthesis in PeerJ, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
2 citing papers in PubMed.
- Emodin and the Anthraquinone Scaffold: Therapeutic Promise and Strategies to Overcome Translational Barriers.Molecules (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- Mechanistic insights into the multi-target anti-atherosclerotic actions of rhubarb: a traditional remedy revisited.Chinese medicine · 2025Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
8 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Background: Rhubarb has a remarkable effect on lowering blood lipid and glucose levels, and its main component, emodin, is an anthraquinone derivative. To elucidate the role and mechanism of emodin in the treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and to provide robust evidence for its clinical application, we conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to assess the influence of emodin on T2DM animal models and the overall therapeutic effect, and further to evaluate its benefits and risks in the management of T2DM. Methods: Eight databases were searched from inception to May 2023. Two reviewers extracted the data independently. SYRCLE's risk of bias tool for animal studies was used to assess the quality of articles. RevMan V.5.4 software and STATA 15.1 software were applied for data analyses. Body weight, serum insulin level (INS), fasting blood glucose (FBG), 2-hour postprandial blood glucose (2hPG, IPGTT/OGTT), insulin tolerance test (IPITT) indicators, total cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TG), high-density lipoprotein (HDL-c), and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-c) were used as outcome measures. Data for outcome messures presented in graphical form were extracted using GetData graphic digitizer software (version 2.26). For outcome indicators with a small number of included studies, we will conduct descriptive analyses. Results: Twelve existing studies were included in this meta-analysis, and all of the studies included in this review had a low to moderate risk of bias. The results showed that emodin significantly reduced the glucose and lipid metabolism indicators and effectively lowered body weight and serum insulin levels (FBG, 2hPG(IPGTT/OGTT), IPITT, TG, TC, LDL-c, HDL-c) ( Conclusion: Emodin demonstrates significant potential in treating T2DM by reducing FBG, 2hPG (IPGTT/OGTT), IPITT, TC, TG, INS, and body weight in animal models. The therapeutic mechanisms of emodin include enhancing glucose utilization in peripheral tissues, inhibiting glucosidase absorption, alleviating insulin resistance, and strengthening L-type calcium channels. Additionally, emodin shares characteristics with first-line antidiabetic drugs such as metformin, acarbose, and repaglinide, promoting insulin secretion and enhancing cellular sensitivity to insulin. Furthermore, emodin exhibits actions similar to glucagon-likepeptide-1(GLP-1) receptor agonists, suggesting its potential for protecting target organs. Therefore, emodin is a highly promising drug with substantial research and clinical value. However, caution should be exercised due to significant heterogeneity among the studies, and results may evolve with additional research.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What Socratic holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.