Diabetes Mellitus and Protective Approaches of Medicinal Plants: Present Status and Future Prospects

Diabetes mellitus is one of the major health problem worldwide, its incidence and mortality are increasing day by day. Conventional antidiabetic drugs are available with unavoidable side effects. On the other hand, medicinal plants act as an alternative source of antidiabetic agents. From ancient times, herbs and spices have been widely used in the food and for medicinal purposes. In culinary practices, these are used as colorant, preservatives, and flavor substitution. In medicine, oxidative stress and inflammation associated with noncommunicable diseases can be treated or managed through herbs and spices. Phytochemicals like carotenoids, phenolic compounds, sterols, terpenes, alkaloids, glucosinolates, and other sulfur-containing compounds may be responsible for their protective and therapeutic effects. In this modern era, it is necessary to inform consumers about the benefits of botanical compounds. Many herbal plants have potential health claims that are not significantly demonstrated. Since herbs and spices can be used to get better food value and human health, as functional food ingredients they are helpful to decrease the risk of chronic diseases. Much trial evidence for the use of herbal plants to treat diabetes mellitus has uniformly demonstrated safety. However, further studies are needed to explore the health beneficial effects of these herbal plants used for diabetes mellitus.