reappraisal of clinical studies on the comparative influences of three indigenous plant drugs in diabetes mellitus

ABSTRACT

Diabetes mellitus is possibly the world's fastest growing disease and continues to be a threat to public health in the years 2000. Since long before the insulin period, indigenous drugs have been in use for the treatment of this malady. These traditional plant drugs supposedly represent a mild form of therapy with fewer drawbacks than chemicals either isolated from vegetable kingdom or synthesized. Pharmacological studies in the last three-four decades also evidence usefulness of plant extracts in diabetes, although they do not indicate adequate effectiveness of these hypoglycemic agents. A hypoglycaemic action from Cymnema, sylvestre, Momordica charantia and Pterocarpus marsupium has been confirmed in animal models and non-insulin dependent diabetic patients. These traditional treatments may provide valuable clucs for the development of new oral hypoglycaemic agents or simple dietary adjuncts