Diabetes mellitus occurrence has been associated to the modification of the physiological levels of glucose and is often accompanied by several long-term complications, namely neuropathy, nephropathy, retinopathy, cataract, and cardiovascular. Aldose reductase (AR) is an enzyme of aldoketo reductase super-family that catalyzes the conversion of glucose to sorbitol in the polyol pathway of glucose metabolism. In this context, aldose reductase inhibitors (ARIs) have received much attention worldwide. Decreased sorbitol flux through polyol pathway by ARIs could be an emerging target for the management of major complications of diabetes. The present review article describes a brief overview of the role of aldose reductase in the diabetic complications, advances achieved on ARIs and their potential use in the treatment and management of the major diabetic complications such as cataract, retinopathy, neuropathy, nephropathy and cardiovascular. The ARIs developed vary structurally, and representative structural classes of ARIs include i) carboxylic acid derivatives (such as Epalrestat, Alrestatin, Zopalrestat, Zenarestat, Ponalrestat, Lidorestat, and Tolrestat), ii) spirohydantoins and related cyclic amides (such as Sorbinil, Minalrestat, and Fidarestat), and iii) phenolic derivatives (related to Benzopyran-4-one and Chalcone). Among these inhibitors, Epalrestat is the only commercially available inhibitor till date. In addition, some other ARIs such as Sorbinil and Ranirestat had been advanced into late stage of clinical trials and found to be safe for human use. The role of various natural ARIs in management of diabetic complications will be discussed. Adapting ARIs could prevent sepsis complications, prevent angiogenesis, ameliorate mild or asymptomatic diabetic cardiovascular autonomic neuropathy and appear to be a promising strategy for the treatment of endotoxemia and other ROS-induced inflammatory diseases. The role of ARIs in non-diabetic diseases will also be discussed.

Diabetes is a condition that affects a large percentage of the population and it is the leading cause of a wide range of costly complications. Diabetes is linked to a multi-fold increase in mortality and when compared to non-diabetics, the intensity and prevalence of COVID-19 ailment among diabetic individuals are more. Since its discovery in Wuhan, COVID-19 has grown rapidly and shown a wide range of severity. Temperature, lymphopenia, non-productive cough, dyspnoea, and tiredness are recognized as the characteristic of individuals infected with COVID-19 disease. In COVID-19 patients, diabetes and other related comorbidities are substantial predictors of disease and mortality. According to a recent study, SARS-CoV-2 (the virus responsible for covid-19 disease) may also lead to direct pancreatic harm, which could aggravate hyperglycemia and potentially cause the establishment of diabetes in formerly non-diabetic individuals. This bidirectional association of COVID-19 and diabetes load the burden on health care professionals throughout the world. It is recommended that gliptin medications be taken moderately, blood glucose levels must be kept under control, ACE inhibitors should be used in moderation, decrease the number of avoidable hospitalizations, nutritional considerations, and some other prevention measures, such as immunization, are highly recommended. SARS-CoV-2 may cause pleiotropic changes in glucose homeostasis, which could exacerbate the pathophysiology of pre-existing diabetes or result in new disease processes.

Pesticides are widely used in agriculture mainly to increase crop yields to cater huge supply of food products for increasing world population as well as to protect crops from pests and control insect-borne diseases. Increased use of pesticides results in contamination of the environment and the excess accumulation of pesticide residues in food products, which has always been a matter of serious concern. Pesticide residues in food and crops aredirectly related to the irrational application of pesticides to the growing crops. Accumulated pesticide residues in food products have been associated with a broad variety of human health hazards, ranging from short-term effects to longterm toxic effects. The preventive measures for pesticide residues in the developing countries are limited due to a shortage of funds and lack of defined government regulations. The impact of pesticide residues can be minimized by taking certain measures such as the rational use of pesticides, promoting organic farming, exploit natural and bio pesticides, and proper implementation and amendment of pesticide-related laws. The present article has been planned to review various aspects of pesticide residues including their accumulation in food products, impact on human health, and the preventive measures to counter their toxic effects.

Glucose-phosphorylating enzyme, glucokinase (GK) plays a major role in glucose homeostasis primarily through its regulatory actions in pancreatic β-cells and liver hepatocytes. Conversion of glucose to glucose-6-phosphate by GK promotes glycogen synthesis in liver hepatocytes, and insulin release in the pancreatic β-cells. Small molecules called glucokinase activators (GKAs) which bind to an allosteric activator site of the GK enzyme have indeed been discovered and developed, and thus hold great promise as new, effective and safe antidiabetic agents. GKAs enhance the catalytic activity of GK and promising clinical trials in humans demonstrated that they are highly useful in the treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus. Most of the reported GKAs include amide derivatives like benzamides, acrylamides, carboxamides, acetamides and acrylamides. Examples include Piragliatin, AZD1656, AZD6370, R1440 GKA2, GKA 50, YH GKA, PSN 010, and LY2121260. Recent findings on GKAs including lead compounds and overview of current hypothesis on mechanism of GK activation along with summary of the recently published patents as well as the GKAs of natural origin are reported in the present review.