Research

Hormonal

Galegine, isolated from Galega officinalis, has a chemical structure similar to metformin and is responsible for the blood glucose-lowering effects of the plant extract.

Galegine is the active compound in Goat's Rue that resembles Metformin, explaining why this plant has been used historically to treat diabetes.

ModerateSupportsMEDIUM confidence
From this plant, also called goat's rue, French lilac, or Italian fitch, a guanidine derivative, galegine, was isolated. This compound, whose chemical structure is quite similar to the antidiabetic drug metformin, is responsible for the lowering of blood glucose produced by the plant extract.
José Luis Rı́os et al. · Planta Medica · 2015

Why this rating

It is a historical fact and structural observation, not a current clinical trial outcome.

Source

Natural Products for the Treatment of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus

José Luis Rı́os et al. · Planta Medica · 2015

DOI 10.1055/s-0035-1546131

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DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10

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