Best herbs for managing diabetes: a review of clinical studies

Abstract

Diabetes mellitus is a public health problem which leads to serious complications over time. Experimentally, many herbs have been recommended for treating diabetes. In most cases, however, the recommendations are based on animal studies and limited pieces of evidence exist about their clinical usefulness. This review focused on the herbs, the hypoglycemic actions of which have been supported by three or more clinical studies. The search was done in Google Scholar, Medline and Science Direct databases using the key terms diabetes, plants, herbs, glucose and patients. According to the clinical studies, Aegle marmelos, Allium cepa, Gymnema sylvestre, Momordica charantia, Ocimum sanctum, Nigella sativa, Ocimum sanctum, Panax quinquefolius, Salacia reticulate, Silybum marianum and Trigonella foenum-graecum have shown hypoglycemic and, in some cases, hypolipidemic activities in diabetic patients. Among them, Gymnema sylvestre, Momordica charantia, Silybum marianum and Trigonella foenum-graecum have acquired enough reputation for managing diabetes. Thus, it seems that physicians can rely on these herbs and advise for the patients to improve management of diabetes. Uniterms: Medicinal plants/diabetes treatment. Diabetes/treatment. Diabetes/clinical trials.Diabetes mellitus é um problema de saúde pública que leva a complicações graves ao longo do tempo. Experimentalmente, muitas ervas têm sido recomendadas para o tratamento da diabetes. Contudo, na maior parte dos casos as recomendações são baseadas em estudos em animais e existem evidências limitadas sobre a sua utilidade clínica. Esta revisão tem como foco as ervas nas quais as ações hipooglicêmicas são apoiadas por três ou mais estudos clínicos. Realizou-se pesquisa no Google Scholar, Medline e Science Direct utilizando palavras-chave diabete, plantas, ervas, glicose e pacientes. Segundo os estudos clínicos, Aegle marmelos, Allium cepa, Gymnema sylvestre, Momordica charantia, Ocimum sanctum, Nigella sativa, Ocimum sanctum, Panax quinquefolius, Salacia reticulate, Silybum marianum e Trigonella foenum-graecum mostraram atividade hipoglicêmica e, em alguns casos, hipolipidêmica em pacientes diabéticos. Entre elas, Gymnema sylvestre, Momordica charantia, Silybum marianum e Trigonella foenumgraecum apresentam grande reputação no manejamento da diabetes. Portanto, parece que os médicos podem confiar nessas ervas e aconselhar aos pacientes para que melhorem o tratamento da diabetes.Unitermos: Planta medicinais/tratamento da diabetes. Diabetes/tratamento. Diabetes/ensaios clínicos. INTRODUCTIONDiabetes mellitus is a growing public health problem in both developed and developing countries. According to the report of World Health Organization (August, 2011), 346 million people have diabetes worldwide. It is also estimated that 3.4 million patients died from diabetes-related complications in 2004. Without urgent action, this number is likely to double by 2030. Generally, diabetes is classified to two main types: type-1 diabetes (T1D), previously known as insulin-dependent diabet...

Efficacy of Trigonella foenum-graecum Seed Extract in Reducing Metabolic and Inflammatory Alterations Associated With Menopause

“…The beneficial effects of estradiol on glucose homeostasis and body weight were mimicked by T. foenum-graecum. Hypoglycemic effect of T. foenumgraecum has been demonstrated previously in several experimental and clinical studies (27). This effect may be achieved by inhibition of intestinal glucose absorption, enhancing insulin actions on tissues, and activation of hepatic enzymes (28,29).…”

Effect of rosemary on fasting blood glucose, hemoglobin A1c and Vitamin B12 in healthy person and Type 2 diabetic patients taking glucomid or/and metformin

“…[2] Pathophysiology of diabetic vascular disease referred mainly to an abnormality in endothelial and smooth muscle cells related directly with the low level of some biologically active substances such as nitric oxide under the effect of hyperglycemia. [3] Current drug treatment of diabetes besides insulin is oral hypoglycemic drugs including insulin sensitizers (biguanides, thiazolidinediones), insulin secretagogues (sulfonylureas, meglitinides), α-glucosidase inhibitors, incretin agonists, and dipeptidyl peptidase-4.…”

“…[4] Therefore, the search for new antidiabetic agent alternatives with more effectiveness and less side effects has been continued. [2,[9][10][11][12] It was reported that their effects were due to the existence of many phytochemicals including alkaloids, flavonoids, glycosides, glycolipids, polysaccharides, peptidoglycans, carbohydrates, amino acids, and saponins. [9] The present study was planned to overlook the effect of a medicinal plant rosemary (R. officinalis) on fasting blood glucose (FBG), hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c), and Vitamin B12 levels in healthy human compared to Type 2 diabetic patients incorporated to glucomid and/or metformin treatment.…”

Some Natural Plants in Glycemic Amelioration in Streptozotocin Induced Rats

“…Streptozotocin (STZ), an antibiotic produced by Streptomyces achromogenes, is a commonly used agent to induce experimental type 1 diabetes. STZ can cause permanent damage to pancreatic β cells and STZ treatment triggers destructive cellular pathways, including genotoxic DNA methylation and hydroxyl radical (OH•) formation 3 .Under physiological circumstances, insulin regulates substrate utilization in multiple tissues, including the heart, skeletal muscle, liver, and adipose tissue. In the heart, insulin stimulates glucose uptake and oxidation and although it increases fatty acid (FA) uptake, it inhibits FA utilization for energy.Medicinal plants have been used since ancient times for the treatment and management of diabetic mellitus (DM) in traditional medicine systems of many cultures throughout the world 4 .…”