Herbal treatment of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus

Type 2 Diabetes mellitus is a chronic metabolic disease with life-threatening complications. Its increased prevalence today, associated with obesity and life style, is causing both personal and economic burden. While progress has been made in orthodox anti-diabetic drugs new remedies are still in great demand because of the limited efficacy and undesirable side effects of some orthodox drugs. A number of herbal medicines have been studied for their ability to lower blood glucose concentrations. These herbs act by influencing resistance to insulin, insulin production or absorption of glucose. Clinical data is available to support a role for the following herbs in the control of blood glucose:

Bitter melon (Momordica charantia)

Fenugreek seeds (Trigonella foenum graecum)

Gymnema (Gymnema sylvestre)

Cinnamon (Cinnamomum zeylanicum)

American ginseng (Panax quinquefolium)

Milk Thistle (Silybum marianum)

Herbal medicines are also of value in reducing complications. The following herbs have been shown to reduce vascular damage associated with diabetes.

Bilberry (Vaccinium myrtillus),

Gingko (Gingko biloba) and

Gotu kola (Centella asiatica)

New studies continue to identify roles for herbal medicines as shown by a recent clinical study (www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23581458) demonstrating the ability of the medicinal herb Veronia cinerea to reduce blood glucose.

Emphasis should be put on a role of herbal medicines, when combined with nutritional supplements, diet and exercise, in preventing progression of type 2 diabetes with the aim of reducing the need for drug treatment and reducing long term complications. Care must be taken if herbal medicines are combined with orthodox drugs and health care providers should be informed if both drug and herbal medicine treatment are used.