Hypoglycemic Bioactivity of Novel Eco-Friendly Carbon Dots Derived from Traditional Chinese Medicine

Although recent research on intrinsic bioactivities of carbon dots is expanding, it is focused on basic aspects, which creates the need for broadening our knowledge about carbon dots to expand their uses in biomedical sciences and facilitate their application in clinical practice. Jiaosanxian is a charcoal traditional Chinese medicine with a pronounced effect on promoting appetite and digestion that is widely used as dyspepsia therapy in China. To study the underlying mechanism and the material requirements, we investigated carbon dots which was generated in the charcoal processing. In this study, we developed Jiaosanxian-derived carbon dots (JSX-CDs) with an average diameter of 4.4–6.4 nm. No further modifications or external surface passivation agents were required because Jiaosanxian naturally contains carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen. We found that carbon dots derived from different charcoal traditional Chinese medicines had both similarities and differences in their structural features, physicochemical properties, and bioactivities. Due to an abundance of surface groups, JSX-CDs showed a distinct solubility and bioactivity. In this study, we established a modified hyperglycemia model in mice to evaluate the hypoglycemic activity of JSX-CDs. We found that JSX-CDs were effective in regulating blood sugar and appeared to be very safe, indicating its potential use as a hypoglycemic agent. Our results do not only provide guidance for further research on intrinsic bioactivities of CDs but also give new insights into their potential biomedical and healthcare applications.