Phytomedicine for Diabetes mellitus: An overview

Abstract

Diabetes mellitus is a complex metabolic disorder resulting from either insulin insufficiency or insulin dysfunction. Diabetes mellitus affect most of the people of both developed and developing countries. The treatment of diabetes with synthetic drugs is costly and chances of side effects are high. Phytomedicine has been used since ancient time in many parts of the world where access to modern medicine is limited. Low-fat vegan diet has improved glycemic control in type II diabetic patients. Photochemical identified from medicinal plants presents an exciting opportunity for the development of new types of therapeutics for diabetes mellitus. Most prevalent of photochemical groups are the alkaloids, terpenes, and phenolics. Several formulations like herbal teas, extracts, decoctions, infusions, tinctures, etc are prepared from medicinal plants. Despite considerable progress in the development of synthetic drugs, the search for the invention of phytomedicine as alternative therapy is progressing.