Plants are considered to be medicinal if they possess pharmacological activities of possible therapeutic use. A narrative perspective of medicinal evidences on the biochemical effectiveness of plant extracts used in the treatment of diabetes in rats was reviewed. The review was designed to highlight the chemical constituents and pharmacological potentials of some Nigeria plants used in experimental diabetes. The literature survey reveals the therapeutic efficiency of crude aqueous extracts of many plant species used either independently or in combination with some standard drugs for the treatment of diabetes with rats. Identified literature show a considerable degree of overlap and consistency in methods and results of findings. Some plant extracts were reported to be more effective in combination with other plant extracts and also a few were more effective than many standard drugs. There is a good number of quality research regarding plant extracts for the treatment and management of diabetes in rats. These plants identified as having anti diabetic potentials may be remedy for the treatment and management of diabetes in human. Research should explode more about these valuable plants to ascertain the dosage that may be required for man and if possible develop novel drug molecules for the future.