Medicinal Herbal Plants and Allopathic Drugs to Treat Diabetes Mellitus: A glance

Abstract

The present study was based on Diabetes Mellitus, its cure using herbal drugs over allopathic drugs. According to the official World Health Organisation (WHO) data, India tops the list of countries with the highest number of diabetics; China, America, Indonesia, Japan, Pakistan, Russia, Brazil, Italy and Bangladesh follow. In the year 2000, the total number of diabetics in India stood at 31.7 million and is expected to rise by more than 100% in the year 2030 to account to a whopping 79.4 million. Despite the use of advanced Allopathic drugs for the treatment, use of herbal remedies is gaining higher importance because of Allopathic drugs have drawbacks and limitations. Natural herbs have been highly esteemed source of medicine throughout the human history. They are widely used today indicating that herbs are a growing part of modern high-tech medicine. The herbal drugs with anti-diabetic activity are extensively formulated commercially because of easy availability, affordability and less side effects as compared to the synthetic anti-diabetic drugs. The WHO has listed 21,000 plants, which are used for medicinal purposes around the world. A list of medicinal herbal plants with proven anti-diabetic and related beneficial effects and of herbal drugs used in treatment of diabetes is compiled. Thus, this review article undertakes the attempt for providing updated information on the type of diabetes and herbal formulations which will enhance the existing knowledge of the researchers.