Diabetes mellitus: An overview on its pharmacological aspects and reported medicinal plants having antidiabetic activity

Abstract

Diabetes mellitus is not a single disease but is a group of metabolic disorders affecting a huge number of population in the world. It is mainly characterized by chronic hyperglycemia, resulting from defects in insulin secretion or insulin action. It is predicated that the number of diabetes person in the world could reach upto 366 million by the year 2030. Even though the cases of diabetes are increasing day by day, except insulin and oral hypoglycemic drugs no other way of treatment has been successfully developed so far. Thus, the objective of the present review is to provide an insight over the pathophysiological and etiological aspects of diabetes mellitus along with the remedies available for this metabolic disorder. The review also contains brief idea about diabetes mellitus and the experimental screening model with their relevant mechanism and significance mainly used nowadays. Alloxan and streptozotocin are mainly used for evaluating the antidiabetic activity of a particular drug. This review contain list of medicinal plants which have been tested for their antidiabetic activity in the alloxan induced diabetic rat model. From the available data in the literature, it was found that plant having antidiabetic activity is mainly due to the presence of the secondary metabolite. Thus, the information provided in this review will help the researchers for the development of an alternative methods rather than insulin and oral hypoglycemic agents for the treatment of diabetes mellitus, which will minimize the complication associated with the diabetes and related disorder.

A review on medicinal importance, pharmacological activity and bioanalytical aspects of beta-carboline alkaloid “Harmine”

“…Thus, further studies are needed to be conducted to explore the hidden potential of harmine in curing and treating various diseases. In recent years, attention has been drawn to the health promoting activity of plant foods and their active components [49][50][51][52][53] . Although major improvements in the quality control of harmine have been made, more attention should be paid to the optimization of the extraction and separation procedures of harmine.…”

A phytochemical of modern medicinal perspective

“…Various types of currently used drugs are derived from natural sources and people use plants as dietary supplements even without knowing their mode of action. Hence, there is a need of more investigative reports and evidence-based support along with laboratory support for their pharmacological activity and safety issue [55,56]. From all the compiled data, we can conclude that ascaridole has a huge number of potential in the field of medicine, pharmaceutical, agriculture and many more, so it could be used as a remedy for the treatment of various complications of human being and other species in the future.…”

Assessment of anti-diabetic activity of <i>Cassia sophera</i> (Caesalpiniaceae)

“…Therefore, haemostatic balance of glucose is needed to minimize the complications associated with the disease [2].…”