A Study on the Crude Antidiabetic Drugs Used in Arabian Folk Medicine

Abstract

A survey of different regions of Saudi Arabia revealed that a large number of herbal drugs are used for the treatment of diabetes in the traditional medicine of this country. Twelve of these antidiabetic plants were collected and identified. The literature was surveyed to find distribution, chemical constituents and other medicinal uses of these plants. Studies for antidiabetic activity in alloxanized mice in our laboratory showed that out of 12 plants, three plants (Teucriurn Oliverianum, Hammada saticornica and Allium cepa) possess significant oral hypoglycemic (25% to 38%) activity; three plants (Artemisia abyssinica, Azadirachta indica and Loranthus curviflorus) showed moderate (11% to 23%) activity. Five plants (Rhazya stricta, Momordica churuntia, Aloe Vera, Allium sativum and Coriandrum sativum) were found to possess no significant activity. One plant (Moringa oleifera) rather increased the blood glucose (15%) in diabetic mice.