A review on medicinal plants with antidiabetic activity

Abstract

In the last few years, there has been an exponential growth in the field of herbal medicine and gaining popularity both in developing and developed countries because of their natural origin and less side effects. A comprehensive review was conducted to pile up information about medicinal plants used for the treatment of diabetes mellitus. It is a metabolic disorder of the endocrine system and affecting nearly 10% of the population all over the world also the number of those affected is increasing day by day. The profiles presented include information about the scientific and family name, plant parts and test model used, the degree of hypoglycemic activity, and the active chemical agents. The large number of plants described in this review (108 plant species belonging to 56 families) clearly demonstrated the importance of herbal plants in the treatment of diabetes. The effects of these plants may delay the development of diabetic complications and correct the metabolic abnormalities. This work stimulates the researchers for further research on the potential use of medicinal plants having antidiabetic potential.