Role of Polyherbal Formulations of Medicinal Plants From Himalayan Regions in the Management of Diabetes

Introduction

The term “medicinal plant” is given to broad classes of plants and herbs possessing medicinal properties. Such classes incorporate various types of plants used in herbalism (“herbology” or “herbal medicine”), which can be defined as the use of plants for medicinal purposes, and the study of such uses in context of animal physiology. The word “herb” is derived from the Latin word, “herba” and an old French word “herbe”. Now-a-days the definition of herb has been extended to leafy green or flowering parts of a plant either fresh or dried. Earlier, the term “herb” was only applied to non-woody plants that die down to the ground after flowering. Medicinal plants are used as great sources of phenolic and polyphenolic compounds that are attributed to their medicinal properties. These benign compounds as part of phytochemical pool of different plant parts are the promising agents as antidiabetic, antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, antifertility, antianxiety, antiaging, antiarthritic, antidepressant, analgesic, antispasmodic, etc. (Boy et al., 2018, Spinella, M. 2001). There are several plants that are reported for their anti-diabetes activity and the most potent and the most frequently studied for diabetes and its complications are Allium cepa, Allium sativum, Zingiber officinale, Curcuma longa, Ginkgo biloba, Aloe Vera, Panax ginseng, Momordica charantia, Azadirachta indica, Phaseolus vulgaris, etc. With continuously rising rates of prevalence and mortality, Diabetes mellitus is a severe health concern. It is characterized by excessive amounts of plasma glucose due to deficiency of insulin and insulin resistance, or both, leading to metabolic deformity in lipids, carbohydrates, and proteins. These lead to many secondary complications including ketosis, polyurea, retinopathy, polyphasia, and cardiovascular disorder (Nisha R et al., 2020, Bera TK et al., 2010). Despite the advent of hypoglycemic agents and their widespread use, diabetes and associated problems appear to be a global health concern, affecting almost 10% of the world's population and perceived to be a major source of high economic losses that can obstruct nations' growth in turn. Insulin and many oral hypoglycemic drugs, such as metformin, sulfonylureas, troglitazone, glucosidase inhibitors, etc., are commercially available treatment for diabetes. However, serious adverse side effects are reported to occur, such as lactic acidosis, diarrhea as well as hepatic and nephrotoxicity. By enhancing insulin sensitivity, rising the production of insulin, and reducing the amount of glucose in the blood, traditional medications are used to treat diabetes. In maintaining normal blood glucose levels, the adverse effect of drug therapy is not always satisfactory, and this observation has been granted to many medicinal and aromatic plants as a promising source of antidiabetic agents that is commonly used in different conventional medicine systems worldwide for the treatment of Diabetes mellitus, and many of them are considered to be successful against diabetes. In the last few decades, there has been an increasing interest in herbal medicine in the management of diabetes both in developing and developed countries, due to their natural source and minimum side effect profiles (Mamun-or-Rashid ANM et al.,2014, Khan A et al., 2011). In this chapter we addressed the significance of some medicinal plants and novel herb-based formulations from Himalayan region of India that offers numerous possible advantages for synergistic activity in the medication of diabetes with or without structural modifications.