Nov 25 (Reuters) - The European Commission has granted marketing approval to Eli Lilly and Co's injectable Trulicity treatment for adults with type 2 diabetes, the U.S. drugmaker said on Tuesday.

The once-weekly drug belongs to a family of diabetes treatments called GLP-1 receptor agonists, which includes Novo Nordisk's widely used daily treatment Victoza. They act like GLP-1, a natural hormone, in prodding the body to release insulin when patients eat.

Trulicity (dulaglutide) can be taken any time of day, with or without meals, and either by itself or with other treatments for the most common form of diabetes, which is highly linked to obesity. It received U.S. marketing approval on Sept. 18.

Like other diabetes drugs, including insulin, Trulicity can cause hypoglycemia, a potentially dangerous decline in blood sugar that can cause fainting, nausea and other symptoms.

(Reporting by Ransdell Pierson; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)