Herbal medicines for the management of diabetes

Abstract

Herbal medicines have been used in the management of diabetes in traditional medicine. This chapter reviews recent findings of the most popular herbs reported to treat diabetes through their relevant mechanistic pathways. These include increased insulin secretion, improvement in insulin sensitivity, enhanced glucose uptake by adipose and muscle tissues, inhibition of glucose absorption from intestine, inhibition of glucose production from hepatocytes and anti-inflammatory activities. The pharmacological activities have highlighted the potential efficacy of these herbal medicines in the management of diabetes.