Diabetes and medicinal plants-A review

Diabetes mellitus (DM), both insulin-dependent DM (IDDM) and non-insulin-dependent DM (NIDDM) is a common and serious metabolic disorder throughout the world. Traditional plant treatments have been used throughout the world for the therapy of diabetes mellitus. Among many medications and other alternative medicines, several herbs have been known to cure and control diabetes; additionally they have no side effects. The present paper is an attempt to list of the plants with anti-diabetic and related beneficial effects originating from different parts of world. History showed that medicinal plants have been used in traditional healing around the world for a long time to treat diabetes; this is because such herbal plants have hypoglycemic properties and other beneficial properties, as reported in scientific literature. There are 136 such plants described in this review which clearly shows the importance of herbal plants in the treatment of diabetes mellitus. The effects of these plants may delay the development of diabetic complications and provide a rich source for antioxidants that are known to prevent/delay different diseased states.