Although insulin is the gold standard for T1DM and recent data have indicated that various insulin modifications may well be a newer potential treatment for T2DM, over the last 20 years or so, as some, though not all, of the ‘causes’ of carbohydrate metabolic changes that led to T2DM variations in patients have been and are being further identified, the pharmaceutical industries in a number of countries have begun to explore a variety of non-insulin agents as ameliorants of this multi-organ problem, with a significant number being based on natural products or modifications thereof. The gene discussed is INS; the disease is type 2 diabetes mellitus.