Medicinal plants of India with anti-diabetic potential

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Abstract

Since ancient times, plants have been an exemplary source of medicine. Ayurveda and other Indian literature mention the use of plants in treatment of various human ailments. India has about 45 000 plant species and among them, several thousands have been claimed to possess medicinal properties. Research conducted in last few decades on plants mentioned in ancient literature or used traditionally for diabetes have shown anti-diabetic property. The present paper reviews 45 such plants and their products (active, natural principles and crude extracts) that have been mentioned/used in the Indian traditional system of medicine and have shown experimental or clinical anti-diabetic activity. Indian plants which are most effective and the most commonly studied in relation to diabetes and their complications are: Allium cepa, Allium sativum, Aloe vera, Cajanus cajan, Coccinia indica, Caesalpinia bonducella, Ficus bengalenesis, Gymnema sylvestre, Momordica charantia, Ocimum sanctum, Pterocarpus marsupium, Swertia chirayita, Syzigium cumini, Tinospora cordifolia and Trigonella foenum graecum. Among these we have evaluated M. charantia, Eugenia jambolana, Mucuna pruriens, T. cordifolia, T. foenum graecum, O. sanctum, P. marsupium, Murraya koeingii and Brassica juncea. All plants have shown varying degree of hypoglycemic and anti-hyperglycemic activity.

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

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