<i>Poria cocos</i> as a Functional Food for Diabetes and Diabetes‐Related Foot Ulcers

ABSTRACT Poria cocos is a medicinal fungus that has been used for millennia in traditional Chinese medicine as a functional food and for the treatment of diabetes and other diseases. We and other groups have demonstrated that P. cocos and its active compounds can effectively control blood glucose and diabetic ulcers in animals and humans with diabetes. This review consolidates information on the phytochemistry, function, and mechanisms of P. cocos, providing an updated reference. The novelty and key findings regarding P. cocos have been critically evaluated, including its phytochemistry, pharmacology, and clinical potential, as well as those of its active compounds at the molecular, cellular, animal, and human levels. A systematic literature search of reports from 2002 to 2025 was conducted using the public databases and keywords. Publication selection was based on a well‐established retrieval protocol. The research findings reviewed emphasize the functions and mechanisms of terpenes/terpenoids and polysaccharides in P. cocos that can mitigate diabetes and its foot ulcers in patients. In brief, P. cocos improves the clinical efficacy of oral anti‐diabetic agents and reduces their side effects. Mechanistically, P. cocos terpenes and polysaccharides mitigate diabetes and diabetic ulcers by reducing peripheral insulin resistance via the PI3K/AKT pathway. In summary, this review provides fundamental information about this fungus and suggests directions for further basic research and application.