Current status of some tropical plants with anti-diabetic potential – a Review

Diabetes mellitus and its complications continue to be one of the highest causes of morbidity and mortality in recent times. Although many drugs are commercially available for use in the management of diabetes, their side effects and high costs underscore the need for herbal alternative drugs. This review presents the profiles of plants with hypoglycaemic properties reported in the literature. Profile includes scientific names, common names, regions they were found, traditional uses, degree of hypoglycaemic activity, methodology used and the active agents found in these plants. The families include the most studied such as Cucurbitaceae, Papillionaceae.The most studied species include Momordica charantia, Trigonella foenum graecum, Allium sativum, Allium cepa. Many studies have confirmed the benefits of medicinal plants with hypoglycaemic activity in the management of diabetes mellitus and its complications. Moreover many of the bioactive compounds isolated from these plants have been found to be more effective than oral hypoglycaemic drugs used in medical practice.