Review of Ayurvedic medicinal plants recommended for the treatment and management of diabetes mellitus

Abstract

Diabetes mellitus (Madhumeha) is a well-known disease of endocrine disorder. People of ancient India well knew about this disease. In Ayurveda Diabetes mellitus is classified under a category of ‘Prameha’ (Urine disorders) and termed as ‘Madhumeha’. Madhumeha is a condition of passing excessive turbid urine which is sweet in nature. Ayurvedic texts have mentioned many medicinal plants for the treatment and management of diabetes mellitus such as Guduchi, Amla, Jamun, ash-gourd, Pippali, Castor, Devdaru, Onion, Fenugreek, Makoi, etc. Various parts of these plants such as leaves, stems, roots, fruits, and seeds are used for curative purposes. The names of these medicinal plants were collected from 'Dravyaguna Vijnana’ of Sastry, J.L.N (2010), and the related supporting literature was collected from various online databases viz. Google Scholar, PubMed, etc.