Abstract

DRUGS ANTIDIABETIC ACTIVITY OF HERBAL

Sharda M. Gaikwad*, Pranali S. Karande, Rani S. Chavan and Sadhana R. Shahi

ABSTRACT

Diabetes mellitus is a common and serious metabolic disorder characterized by high blood sugar levels that result from defects in insulin secretion, or action, or both. The number of people suffering from diabetes is increasing due to population growth, aging, urbanization, and increasing prevalence of obesity and physical inactivity. Indians are genetically more susceptible to diabetes, for which World Health Organization predicts the number of diabetic persons in India may rise up to 74 million by 2025. Oral hypoglycemic agents like sulphonylureas and biguanides aremajor players in the management of the disease but there is growing interest in herbal remedies due to the side effects associated with the oral hypoglycemic agents. They are widely used today indicating that herbs are a growing part of modern, high-tech medicine. The medicinal plants are used totreat diabetes mellitus due to the presence of phenolic compounds, flavonoids, terpenoids, coumarins and other constituents which show reduction in blood glucose levels. This paper focuses mainly on diabetes plants used as antidiabetics in various traditional medicines, constituents isolated from these plants, various mechanisms through which herbs act against diabetes and few examples of antidiabetic formulations available in the market.

Keywords: Diabetes mellitus, Herbal Medicines, Hypoglycemic Medicinal plants.