Hypoglycaemic and anti-diabetic activity of selected African medicinal plants

The use of medicinal plants in the treatment and management of diabetes mellitus is not very popular in Europe and USA as it is in Africa due to adequate availability of synthetic drugs and insulin for the effective management of diabetes in the western countries. In Africa, over 80% of the population live in poor resource settings and depend on medicinal plants for the treatment of various diseases including diabetes mellitus. Africa is very rich in medicinal plants and many of these plants are used in the treatment of diabetes mellitus. These plants play important role as alternative medicine due to their low cost, perception of their minimal side-effects, availability and knowledge about their use in the treatment of diseases. Many African medicinal plants have been reported to possess pancreatic beta cells regenerating insulin potential, hypoglycaemic effects, increase insulin secretion, enhance glucose uptake by adipose tissue or muscles and inhibit glucose absorption from the intestine and glucose production from the liver. Medicinal plants may potentially provide useful source of new oral hypoglycaemic agents for drug development in pharmaceutical application or as adjuncts for existing therapies in the management of diabetes. This review therefore focuses on selected African medicinal plants with hypoglycaemic and anti-diabetic activities that are used in traditional medicine in the treatment and management of diabetes mellitus. There is an urgent need to document the knowledge of medicinal plants that are used mainly in the treatment and management of diabetes mellitus in various parts of Africa.