Ethnomedicine: A Potential Alternative Approach against Diabetes in India and Abroad

The rich ethnomedicinal heritage of the earth might have the potential to cure the very common disease, diabetes. In the following review, floras from parts of India, mostly from Tamil Nadu and Kerala have been studied. Plants like Azadirachta indica A. Juss. , Gymnema sylvestre R. Br. , Allium cepa Linn. , Momordica charantia L. etc. have been seen to be widely used in several places and also across different countries. So, they must have some anti-hyperglycaemic activity. In ethnomedicine, we are not proving anything new. The medicines prepared from these ethnic sources are somehow effective and hence, tribes had been using them for years. Through this paper, we will try to identify and study more plants and make people aware of them.