Medicinal Plants and Bioactive Compounds with Potential Anti-inflammatory and Antidiabetic Activities: A Review

Background Inflammation is a complex process. Persistent and uncontrolled inflammation may act as an etiologic factor for many chronic disorders like diabetes. Objective This review aims to classify the anti-inflammatory and antidiabetic medicinal plants, their traditional uses, and their active compounds that have been tested for their anti-inflammatory and antidiabetic effects. Methods We checked scientific publications in various electronic databases from 1981 to 2021. All the molecular structures were provided in ADC/ChemSketch. Results We reviewed 58 species, belonging to 39 families. These species have long been used in traditional medicine to cure a variety of ailments, including, dysentery, typhoid fever, anemia, digestive and cardiac disorders, as well as diabetes and inflammation. Asteraceae represents the dominant family. The most potent anti-inflammatory and antidiabetic active compounds were reviewed including myricetin, quercetin, hesperetin, rutin, luteolin, chlorogenic acid, vanillic acid, gallic acid, ferulic acid, benzoic acid, cinnamic acid, gentisic acid, camphor, 1,8-cineol, p-cymene, limonene, linalool, thymoquinone, carvacrol, aromadendrine, alpha-pinene, lycopene, phytol, imperatorin, chalepin, hexadecanoic acid, linoleic acid, tellimagrandin I, and trigalloyl glucose. Conclusion This review indicates that medicinal plants have many therapeutic dynamics against inflammation and diabetes that could be exploited for the discovery of therapeutic preparation or agent for treating the two illnesses at the same time.