Alkaloids, especially berberine, palmatine, and coptisine, are responsible for therapeutic effects of Rhizoma coptidis, which can have beneficial effects on diabetes and diabetic complications by modulating AKT/AMPK–NF-κB/MAPK/PI3K and oxidative stress signaling pathways (Wang et al., 2018a). This evidence concerns the gene AKT1 and diabetes mellitus.