Nature’s blueprint for sugar metabolism: translating bee and ant strategies into human diabetes therapies

Despite advances in pharmacological treatments, diabetes mellitus remains a significant global health challenge, characterized by chronic hyperglycemia and associated metabolic dysfunctions. Effective and sustainable glycemic control remains elusive, prompting exploration into unconventional sources of metabolic insights. Social insects, in particular bees and ants, exhibit remarkable physiological adaptations enabling them to thrive on carbohydrate-rich diets without developing metabolic disorders typical in humans. This review investigates the bees and ants metabolic strategies to avoid metabolic disorders like diabetes, focusing on their enzymatic pathways such as trehalose metabolism, specialized hormonal regulation involving insulin-like peptides, adipokinetic hormones, and genetic and epigenetic mechanisms underpinning their metabolic resilience. By systematically comparing these insect adaptations with human metabolic systems, the proposed study identifies potential translational applications, including engineered probiotics, gene-editing approaches, and bioactive compounds for diabetes management. Furthermore, it explores technical, ethical, and ecological considerations for translating insect-derived metabolic mechanisms into human therapies. Highlighting both opportunities and challenges, this review emphasizes the need for interdisciplinary research to responsibly integrate nature-inspired solutions into modern diabetes care.