A review on current epidemiology and herbal approach towards the management of diabetes mellitus in India

Abstract

The article here is about the disorder Diabetes Mellitus (DM) and the various treatments from the herbal background more specifically in India. It has been found that DM is a very common disorder affecting people mostly from the Asian subcontinent. The most common form of diabetes is Non-insulin dependent Diabetes Mellitus (NIDDM) or Type 2 DM (T2DM) and although a number of treatment approaches have been taken for this, herbal drugs never stand apart. Herbal medicines have been the backbone of the entire medicinal system in India and hence this paper will specifically look into all the original, novel, and ancient ways to treat the disorder. Several plants have been found to have anti-diabetic effects like catechu, basil, ginko biloba, fenugreek, and much more. Also, there have been many marketed herbal products too like Bitter gourd powder, episulin, Dia care, and much more which have been discussed in detail in the paper. Interestingly, all of these herbal products have some mechanism of action which are quite varied and have been discussed here. So, the main approach behind this paper is to re-establish herbal drugs as effective ways of medication against the disorder of Diabetes Mellitus.