Abstract: Diabetes is one of the clinical manifestations of hyperglycemia, and various complications may be caused by long-term diabetes. At present, no therapy has been found to cure diabetes and the treatment of this disease using western medicine is prevalent. However, western medicine has serious side effects. For this reason, natural substances with high potential to lower blood glucose, low toxicity and few side effects have gained much attention. Plant polysaccharides, widely distributed in nature, have been reported for their good hypoglycemic effect. As natural bioactive substances, they have the characteristics of low toxicity and small side effects making them a research hotspot in the fields of medicinal and health foods. The types of plant polysaccharides with hypoglycemic effects that have been researched worldwide in recent years and the underlying mechanisms are summarized in this article.

Key words: plant polysaccharides, diabetes, hypoglycemic effect, mechanism