Medicinal plants of India with anti-diabetic potential
Introduction
Diabetes mellitus (DM) is the commonest endocrine disorder that affects more than 100 million people worldwide (6% of the population) and in the next 10 years it may affect about five times more people than it does now (WHO/Acadia, 1992, ADA, 1997). In India, the prevalence rate of diabetes is estimated to be 1–5% (Patel et al., 1986, Verma et al., 1986, Rao et al., 1989). Complications are the major cause of morbidity and mortality in DM.
Historical accounts reveal that as early as 700–200 BC, DM was a well recognized disease in India and was even distinguished as two types; a genetically based disorder and other one resulting from dietary indiscretion (Oubre et al., 1997). In India, indigenous remedies have been used in the treatment of DM since the time of Charaka and Sushruta (6th century BC) (Grover and Vats, 2001).
Plants have always been an exemplary source of drugs and many of the currently available drugs have been derived directly or indirectly from them. The ethno-botanical information reports about 800 plants that may possess anti-diabetic potential (Alarcon-Aguilara et al., 1998). Several such herbs have shown anti-diabetic activity when assessed using presently available experimental techniques (Saifi et al., 1971, Mukherjee et al., 1972, Coimbra et al., 1992, Ajit kar et al., 1999, Jafri et al., 2000). A wide array of plant derived active principles representing numerous chemical compounds have demonstrated activity consistent with their possible use in the treatment of NIDDM (Bailey and Day, 1989, Ivorra et al., 1988, Marles and Farnsworth, 1995). Among these are alkaloids, glycosides, galactomannan gun, polysaccharides, peptidoglycans, hypoglycans, guanidine, steroids, carbohydrates, glycopeptides, terpenoids, amino acids and inorganic ions. Even the discovery of widely used hypoglycemic drug, metformin came from the traditional approach of using Galega officinalis. Thus, plants are a potential source of anti-diabetic drugs (and others too) but this fact has not gained enough momentum in the scientific community. The reasons may be many including lack of belief among the practitioners of conventional medicine over alternative medicine, alternative forms of medicine are not very well-defined, possibility of quacks practising such medicine providing alluring and magical cures and natural drugs may vary tremendously in content, quality and safety.
Although, oral hypoglycemic agents/insulin are the mainstay of treatment of diabetes and are effective in controlling hyperglycemia, they have prominent side effects and fail to significantly alter the course of diabetic complications (Rang and Dale, 1991). As the knowledge of heterogeneity of this disorder increases, there is need to look for more efficacious agents with lesser side effects. Though development of modern medicine resulted in the advent of modern pharmacotherapeutics including insulin, biguanides, sulfonylureas and thiazolidinediones, there is still a need to look for new drugs as no drug (except strict glycemic control with insulin) has been shown to modify the course of diabetic complications. In relation to plants also, barring a few studies (Grover et al., 2000, Rathi et al., in press a, Srivastava et al., 1988, Karunanayake et al., 1990, etc.), most of the studies have not assessed the impact of these plants on the course of diabetic complications. The present review circumscribes Indian plants that have been pharmacologically tested and shown to be of some value in DM. Since there was a paucity of journals that published plant related research work, previous work has been published in non-indexed and obscure journals and therefore may have been missed in this article as citations for the present article were taken from Medline database.
Section snippets
Acacia arabica or nilotica: Babul (Hindi), Indian Gum Arabic tree (English)
It occurs in wild throughout in India and is also cultivated. Feeding of 94% seed diet to normal rats showed significant hypoglycemic effect versus controls. However, the same diet failed to show any hypoglycemic effect in alloxanized rats (175 mg/kg SC) indicating that plant acts through release of insulin (Singh et al., 1975). Powdered seeds of Acacia arabica administered in doses of 2, 3 and 4 gm/kg body weight exerted a significant (P<0.05) hypoglycemic effect in normal rabbits by
Conclusion
Due to economic constraints, providing modern medical healthcare in developing countries such as India is still a far-reaching goal. The most commonly used drugs of modern medicine such as aspirin, anti-malarials, anti-cancers, digitalis, etc. have originated from plant sources. Out of an estimated 250 000 higher plants, less than 1% have been screened pharmacologically and very few in regard to DM. Therefore, it is prudent to look for options in herbal medicine for diabetes as well. We have
References (222)
- et al.
Hypoglycemic and antihyperglycemic effects of Trigonella foenum-graecum leaf in normal and alloxan induced diabetic rats
Journal of Ethnopharmacology
(1997) - et al.
The hypoglycemic and antihyperglycemic effect of Citrullus colocynthis fruit aqueous extract in normal and alloxan diabetic rabbits
Journal of Ethnopharmacology
(2000) - et al.
Effects of Momordica charantia fruit juice on islet morphology in the pancreas of the streptozotocin-diabetic rat
Diabetes Research and Clinical Practice
(1998) Effect of aloes on blood glucose levels in normal and alloxan diabetic mice
Journal of Ethnopharmacology
(1990)- et al.
Study of the anti-hyperglycemic effect of plants used as antidiabetics
Journal of Ethnopharmacology
(1998) - et al.
Evaluation of the hypoglycemic effect of Memecylon umbellatum in normal and alloxan diabetic mice
Journal of Ethnopharmacology
(1998) - et al.
Improving effects of the extracts from Eugenia uniflora on hyperglycemia and hypertriglyceridemia in mice
Journal of Ethnopharmacology
(1999) - et al.
N-containing sugars from Morus alba and their glycosidase inhibitory activities
Carbohydrate Research
(1994) - et al.
Hypoglycemic effect of Momordica charantia extracts in normoglycemic or cyproheptadine-induced hyperglycemic mice
Journal of Ethnopharmacology
(1994) - et al.
Functional beta- cell regeneration in the islets of pancreas in alloxan induced diabetic rats by (−) epicatechin
Life Science
(1982)
Antidiabetic effect of (−) epicatechin
Lancet
Possible mechanism of antihyperglycemic effect of Azadirachta indica leaf extract. Part IV
General Pharmacology
Possible mechanism of antihyperglycemic effect of Gymnema sylvestre leaf extract, part I
General Pharmacology
A comparative evaluation of some blood sugar lowering agents of plant origin
Journal of Ethnopharmacology
Influence of Aloe vera on the healing of dermal wounds in diabetic rats
Journal of Ethnopharmacology
Antihyperglycemic actions of Eucalyptus globulus (Eucalyptus) are associated with pancreatic and extra-pancreatic effects in mice
Journal of Nutrition
Anti-hyperglycemic effect of Eugenia jambolana and Tinospora cordifolia in experimental diabetes and their effects on key metabolic enzymes involved in carbohydrate metabolism
Journal of Ethnopharmacology
Traditional Indian anti-diabetic plants attenuate renal hypertrophy, urine volume and albuminuria in streptozotocin induced diabetic mice
Journal of Ethnopharmacology
Effect of Punica granatum Linn. (flowers) on blood glucose level in normal and alloxan-induced diabetic rats
Journal of Ethnopharmacology
Garlic in alloxan-induced diabetic rabbits
American Journal of Clinical Nutrition
Effects of Momordica charantia powder on serum glucose levels and various lipid parameters in rats fed with cholesterol-free and cholesterol-enriched diets
Journal of Ethnopharmacology
Anti-diabetic activity of Picrorrhiza kurroa extract
Journal of Ethnopharmacology
Oral hypoglycemic activity of some medicinal plants of Sri Lanka
Journal of Ethnopharmacology
Effect of Momordica charantia fruit juice on streptozotocin-induced diabetes in rats
Journal of Ethnopharmacology
Antioxidant and cyclooxygenase inhibitory phenolic compounds from Ocimum sanctum Linn.
Phytomedicine
Hypoglycemic activity of Eugenia jambolana and Ficus bengalenesis: mechanism of action
In Vivo
Antihyperglycemic effect of Mangifera indica in rat
Phytotherapy Research
A study on composition and hypolipidemic effect of dietary fibre from some plant foods
Plant Foods and Human Nutrition
Randomized placebo-controlled, single blind trial of holy basil leaves in-patients with non insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus
International Journal of Clinical Pharmacology and Therapy
Effect of Momordica charantia (Karella) extracts on fasting and postprandial serum glucose levels in NIDDM patients
Bangladesh Medical Research Council Bulletin
Preliminary studies on the inorganic constituents of some indigenous hypoglycemic herbs on oral glucose tolerance test
Journal of Ethnopharmacology
Antidiabetic evaluation of Mucuna pruriens, Linn. seeds
The Journal of Pakistan Medical Association
Studies on the activity of individual plants of an antidiabetic plant mixture
Acta Diabetologica Latina
Studies on hypoglycemic effects of fruit pulp, seed and whole plant of Momordica charantia on normal and diabetic model rats
Planta Medica
Hypoglycemic activity of Cajanus cajan (seeds) in mice
Indian Journal of Experimental Biology
Studies on the effects of a hypoglycemic principle from Allium Cepa Linn.
Indian Journal of Medical Research
Effect of long term feeding of the aqueous extracts of Onion (Allium cepa Linn.) and garlic (Allium sativum Linn.) on normal rats
Indian Journal of Experimental Biology
Hypoglycemic action of bengalenoside, a glucoside isolated from Ficus bengalenesis Linn., in normal and alloxan diabetic rabbits
Indian Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
Effect of leucopelargonin derivative from Ficus bengalenesis Linn. on diabetic dogs
Indian Journal of Medical Research
Biologically active principles isolated from Salacia oblonga wall
Indian Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
Antiperoxide effect of S-allyl cysteine sulfoxide, an insulin secretagogue, in diabetic rats
Experientia
Coccinia indica in the treatment of patients with diabetes mellitus
Bangladesh Medical Research Council Bulletin
Influence of dietary capsaicin and onion on the metabolic abnormalities associated with streptozotocin induced diabetes mellitus
Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry
Traditional plant medicines as treatment for diabetes
Diabetes Care
Cerasee, a traditional treatment for diabetes. Studies in normal and streptozotocin diabetic mice
Diabetes Research
Hypoglycemic effect of Swerchirin from the hexane fraction of Swertia chirayita
Planta Medica
Effects of oral administration of Eugenia jambolana seeds and chloropropamide on blood glucose level and pancreatic cathepsin B in rat
Indian Journal of Biochemistry and Biophysics
Antidiabetic effect of a leaf extract from Gymnema sylvestre in non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus patients
Journal of Ethnopharmacology
Pancreatic beta cell regeneration. A novel antidiabetic mechanism of Pterocarpus marsupium Roxb.
Indian Journal of Pharmacology
Cited by (1389)
Preparation of chitosan nanoparticles loaded with Balanites aegyptiaca extract for treatment of streptozotocin-induced diabetes in rats
2024, International Journal of Biological MacromoleculesHypoglycemic, antidiabetic and toxicological evaluation of leaf extract of Xylopia parviflora (A. rich.) Benth
2024, Pharmacological Research - Modern Chinese Medicine