Diabetes mellitus (DM), a chronic metabolic disorder associated with hyperglycemia and other complications, is one of the five priority non communicable diseases of global interest with unprecedented rise in developing countries. Whereas, the current treatment with insulin and oral hypoglycemic agents is aimed at managing the hyperglycemia and associated complications, there is need to explore other critical pathways in the pathogenesis of DM that can act as potential drug targets with better treatment outcomes. This study comprehensively explains the role of cellular and molecular elements, like hyperglycemia-induced oxidative stress, endothelial dysfunction, and Nuclear Factor Kappa B (NF-κB)’s involvement in inflammation and immune regulation, in the onset of DM. With bioactive compounds from natural products gaining popularity as novel drug molecules due to their diverse pharmacological actions, the study also extensively explores the prospective therapeutic benefits of curcumin (CUR), a bioactive compound known for its antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and hypoglycemic properties, in addressing diabetic complications, predominantly via the modulation of the NF-κB pathway. The findings reveal that CUR administration effectively lowered blood glucose elevation, reinstated diminished serum insulin levels, and enhanced body weight in Streptozotocin -induced diabetic rats. CUR exerts its beneficial effects in management of diabetic complications through regulation of signaling pathways, such as CaMKII, PPAR-γ, NF-κB, and TGF-β1. Moreover, CUR reversed the heightened expression of inflammatory cytokines (TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-6) and chemokines like MCP-1 in diabetic specimens, vindicating its anti-inflammatory potency in counteracting hyperglycemia-induced alterations. CUR diminishes oxidative stress, avert structural kidney damage linked to diabetic nephropathy, and suppress NF-κB activity. Furthermore, CUR exhibited a protective effect against diabetic cardiomyopathy, lung injury, and diabetic gastroparesis. Conclusively, the study posits that CUR could potentially offer therapeutic benefits in relieving diabetic complications through its influence on the NF-κB pathway.

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disorder characterized by the loss of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra, leading to various motor and non-motor symptoms. Several cellular and molecular mechanisms such as alpha-synuclein (α-syn) accumulation, mitochondrial dysfunction, oxidative stress, and neuroinflammation are involved in the pathogenesis of this disease. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) play important roles in post-transcriptional gene regulation. They are typically about 21-25 nucleotides in length and are involved in the regulation of gene expression by binding to the messenger RNA (mRNA) molecules. miRNAs like miR-221 play important roles in various biological processes, including development, cell proliferation, differentiation, and apoptosis. miR-221 is also implicated in promoting neuronal survival against oxidative stress and in promoting neurite outgrowth and neuronal differentiation. Additionally, the role of miR-221 in PD has been investigated in several studies. According to the results of this study; 1) miR-221 protects against oxidative stress in 6-hydroxydopamine-induced PC12 cells; 2) miR-221 prevents Bax/caspase-3 signaling activation by stopping Bim; 3) miR-221 has moderate predictive power for PD; 4) miR-221 directly targets PTEN, and PTEN over-expression eliminates the protective action of miR-221 on p-AKT expression in PC12 cells; 5) miRNA-221, by manipulating the Akt signaling pathway, performs in controlling cell viability and apoptosis in PD. This review study suggests that miR-221 has the potential to be used as a clinical biomarker for PD diagnosis and stage assignment.