DIABETES MELLITUS TREATMENT USING HERBAL DRUGS

Аннотация

The use of herbs is common among diabetics. The aim of this study is to determine the prevalence of the use of herbs among diabetics and which herbs are used. Additionally, to investigate the effect of some demographic characteristics on the use of such herbs. Key words: alternative medicine, blood sugar, teucerium oliverianum, remedies, dietary approaches, Aerial parts, fruits, bulb, flowers. ЛЕЧЕНИЕ САХАРНОГО ДИАБЕТА С ИСПОЛЬЗОВАНИЕМ ТРАВЯНЫХ ПРЕПАРАТОВ Аннотация. Использование трав распространено среди диабетиков. Целью данного исследования является определение распространенности использования трав среди диабетиков и того, какие травы используются. Кроме того, изучение влияния некоторых демографических характеристик на использование таких трав. Ключевые слова: альтернативная медицина, уровень сахара в крови, teucerium oliverianum, средства, диетические подходы, надземные части, плоды, луковицы, цветы. The use of alternative medicine (AM) has increased recently and attracted the attention of many researchers all over the world. This interest has been accentuated by a concern that such treatment may be harmful to the patients despite their apparent innocuousness. The scope of alternative medicine is enormous and includes all therapeutic procedures or practices which lie outside the mainstream of medical practice. They may be differentiated into pharmacological category (namely herbal treatments or homeopathy), physical remedies (acupuncture or chiropractics), dietary approaches (macrobiotics or vegetarianisms) or cognitive treatment (hypnosis). A survey of different regions of Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA)revealed that a large number of herbal drugs are used for the treatment of diabetes. Twelve of these antidiabetics plants were identified. Three of them possess significant oral hypoglycemic activity in mice (teucerium oliverianum, Hammada salicornica and Allium Cepa); 3 plants showed moderate activity (Artemisia abyssinica, Azadirachta indica and loranthus curviflorus). Five plants were found to possess no significant activity (Phazya stricta, Mormordica charantia, Aloe vera, Allium 1422 ResearchBib IF - 11.01, ISSN: 3030-3753, Volume 2 Issue 3 sativum and Coriandrum sativum) and one plant (Moringa oleifera) rather increased the blood glucose. Medicinal plants use in South Western KSA were studied and the most common plants found belong to the leguminosae, labiatae, compositae and euphorbiacease families. The form in which the herbs were used was described by El-Sheikh in his survey of the most important medicinal plants in Qasim, KSA. The most frequent forms were the solutions of the dried leaves and flowers, the dried leaves alone, the volatile oils and the crushed fresh shoot. In Mossa study the parts of the plants which were used include the leaves, the Aerial parts, the fruits, the bulb, the flowers or the whole plants. Patients tend to use AM more in chronic disease conditions and diabetes mellitus is one of those conditions in which most patients tend to seek help. It has been reported that more than 400 herbal remedies are available for use by diabetics worldwide. American diabetics of Mexican origin showed a higher interest in AM with as many as 67% of them were reported using folk medicine. Researches, in recent years, have suggested that some herbal therapies may have a role in the treatment of diabetes mellitus.However, many questions remain unanswered regarding the proper use of herbal therapies for those diabetics particularly with regards to dosage and the presence of contaminants.The anti-diabetic activity of Aloes was studied in 5 patients with non-insulin dependent diabetes (NIDDM) and there was a significant reduction in fasting serum glucose indicating that aloes has a hypoglycemia effect. It has also been reported that a plant mixture extract comprising of Nigella Sativa, Myrrh, Gum olibnum, Gum Asafoetida and Aloe to have a blood glucose lowering effect. Another study on rabbits demonstrated the hypoglycemic effect of Nigella sativa with no attention of the based insulin levels. The use of AM in diabetes may be harmful in 2 ways: 1. Is related to its possible side effects and the other is the high probability of non-compliance with medical treatment that may accompany the use of AM. Since the use of herbs is common among diabetics and some herbs appear to have a role in the treatment of diabetes mellitus, this study was carried out on a group of diabetic patients to determine the prevalence of the use of herbs. Additionally, the study aims at investigating which herbs are used as well as the effect of some demographic characteristics on the use of such herbs. The use of herbs is not a new issue as herbs were known for a long time and had been used by many people to treat a variety of diseases. Doctors will need to keep track of this practice and they need to know more with regards to herbs as they may improve or worsen the outcome of treatment of their patients. Diabetes is one cond