Treatment of Diabetes with Indian Herbs and Herbal Medicines: A Review

Abstract

Diabetes mellitus, one of the most common metabolic diseases, affects 2.8% of the global population and is expected to climb to 5.4% by 2025. Herbal remedies have long been known as a valuable source of medicine, and they are becoming an increasingly important aspect of modern, high-tech medicine. The current review presents profiles of plants with hypoglycemic properties found in literature from various databases, with proper categorization based on the parts used, mode of blood glucose reduction (insulinomimetic or insulin secretagogues activity), and active phytoconstituents with insulin mimetics activity. According to the review, plants with hypoglycemia potential primarily belong to the families Leguminoseae, Lamiaceae, Liliaceae, Cucurbitaceae, Asteraceae, Moraceae, Rosaceae, and Araliaceae. Allium sativum, Gymnema sylvestre, Citrullus colocynthis, Trigonella foenum greacum, Momordica charantia, and Ficus bengalensis are the most active plants. The review discusses various new bioactive pharmaceuticals and isolated plant components, including as roseoside, epigallocatechin gallate, beta-pyrazol-1-ylalanine, cinchonain Ib, leucocyandin 3-O-beta-d-galactosyl cellobioside, leucopelargonidin-3- O-alpha-L rhamnoside, glycyrrhetinic acid, dehydrotrametenolic acid, strictinin, isostrictinin, pedunculagin, epicatechin and christinin-A displaying substantial insulinomimetic and antidiabetic activity with better efficacy than traditional hypoglycaemic medications. Thus, according to the review, the antidiabetic effect of medicinal plants is mostly ascribed to the presence of polyphenols, flavonoids, terpenoids, coumarins, and other substances that reduce blood glucose levels. The review also examines the management of diabetes mellitus using these plants and their active principles.