ANTIDIABETIC PLANTS AND THEIR ACTIVE INGREDIENTS: A REVIEW

Diabetes mellitus is a lifestyle disorder that is rapidly becoming a major threat to populations all over the globe. Over the past 30 years, the status of diabetes has changed from being considered as a mild lifestyle disorder of the elderly to one of the major causes of morbidity and mortality, affecting people of all ages. India is slated to be the diabetic capital of the world, with 50.8 million diabetics. There seems to be a renewed interest in herbal medicines across the world today and plants are a powerhouse of sources for antidiabetic principles. Hence, a review on the antidiabetic plants has been done and the plants with antidiabetic principles isolated have been tabulated. Electronic searches were conducted in numerous databases and relevant journals. Sources also included various books and newspaper articles. Hand searches were also carried out in additional journals and secondary references. Researchers in the field of Ayurveda, Siddha, Unani and Homeopathy were consulted for access to ongoing research and various references. Molecular docking studies were performed on three selected plants to authenticate their affinity and therapeutic efficacy.