A Comparative Analysis of the Medicinal Plants Used for Diabetes Mellitus in the Traditional Medicine in Turkey, Pakistan, and Malaysia

Abstract

This chapter includes data on the medicinal and aromatic plants used in the treatment of diabetes in Turkey, Pakistan, and Malaysia. The total number of medicinal plants evaluated in the traditional medicine includes 340 taxa from 66 families and 185 genera in Turkey, 281 taxa from 76 families and 209 genera in Pakistan, and 76 taxa from 43 families and 65 genera in Malaysia. The following families are represented by the largest number of taxa: Rosaceae (49), Lamiaceae (48), Asteraceae (45), Apiaceae (20), and Fabaceae (17) in Turkey; Asteraceae (27), Fabaceae (25), Lamiaceae (14), Cucurbitaceae (12), Apocynaceae (12), and Moraceae (11) in Pakistan; and Fabaceae (8), Acanthaceae (5), Malvaceae and Phyllanthaceae (4 each), and Annonaceae and Zingiberaceae (3 each) in Malaysia. The genera with highest number of taxa are Prunus (11 taxa), Thymus (9 taxa), Quercus (7 taxa), and Juniperus, Hypericum, Crataegus, Pyrus, Rubus, and Salvia (6 taxa each) in Turkey; Ficus (9 taxa), Artemisia (6 taxa), Phyllanthus (5 taxa), and Ziziphus, Solanum, and Fagonia (4 taxa each) in Pakistan; and Phyllanthus (3 taxa) and Piper, Orthosiphon, Sindora, Allium, Annona, Terminalia, and Cnestis (2 taxa each) in Malaysia. The parts commonly used are leaves (107 taxa), aerial parts (104 taxa), fruits (77 taxa), and flowers (55 taxa) in Turkey; leaves (87 taxa), fruits (54 taxa), whole plants (51 taxa), and seeds (41 taxa) in Pakistan; and leaves (35 taxa), root (22 taxa), and fruits (12 taxa) in Malaysia. Common preparations evaluated are decoction (177 taxa), followed by infusion (138 taxa), fresh (65 taxa), and raw (25 taxa) in Turkey; extract (72 taxa), followed by powder (62 taxa), decoction (42 taxa), and boiled (41 taxa) in Pakistan; and decoction (32 taxa), followed by extract (21 taxa) and boiled (13 taxa) in Malaysia. The most commonly used taxa among these are Rosa canina, Teucrium polium, Urtica dioica, Juglans regia, Rubus sanctus, Viscum album ssp. album, Olea europaea, Morus nigra, Prunus dulcis, Thymbra spicata, and Prunus spinosa ssp. dasphylla in Turkey; Syzygium cumini, Allium sativum, Momordica charantia, Justicia adhatoda, Trigonella foenum-graecum, Ficus benghalensis, and Olea ferruginea in Pakistan; and Parkia speciosa, Andrographis paniculata, Averrhoa bilimbi, Momordica charantia, and Morinda citrifolia in Malaysia. A total of 42 taxa are common among Turkey and Pakistan, 11 between Pakistan and Malaysia, and 6 between Turkey and Malaysia. A comparison on the basis of MAPS reveals that in all three areas five taxa commonly used for the diabetes mellitus are Allium cepa, Allium sativum, Momordica charantia, Nigella sativa, and Punica granatum. The three countries seem to embody a great potential for an evaluation of MAPS and interesting folk medicine culture for many disease groups, especially diabetes mellitus.