Optimization of Diabetes by Herbal Medicine

Plant-based medicinal products have been acknowledged since ancient times. Several medicinal plants and their products have been used to control diabetes in the traditional therapeutic systems of many cultures worldwide. The plants provide a potential source of hypoglycemic drugs because many plants and plant-derived compounds have been used to treat diabetes. Several synthetic oral hypoglycemic agents are the primary forms of treatment for diabetes. However, prominent side-effects of such drugs are the main reason for an increasing number of people seeking alternative therapies that may have less severe or no side effects. Still, little toxicological information exists concerning traditional antidiabetic plants. The present paper attempts to list the plants with antidiabetic and related beneficial effects originating from different parts of the world and Polyherbal formulations. History has shown that medicinal plants have been used in traditional healing worldwide for a long time to treat diabetes. Such herbal plants have hypoglycemic properties and other beneficial properties, as reported in scientific literature. This book chapter portray, the importance of herbal plants and polyherbal formulations in the treatment of diabetes mellitus. The effects of these plants may delay the development of diabetes and its complications due to their chemical constituents.