A REVIEW ON ETHNOMEDICINAL PLANTS OF ASSAM (INDIA) USED IN THE TREATMENT OF DIABETES MELLITUS

Diabetes mellitus is one of the most prevalent metabolic disorders and has been a leading cause of death in the last few decades. Oral hypoglycaemic agents are mostly used in the treatment of diabetes, but the main drawback of these agents is that they have some unavoidable side effects. Nowadays, researchers are mainly focusing on unexposed medicinal plant species as an alternative source for the treatment of diabetic mellitus. This review article aims to compile all the reported antidiabetic plants used by ethnic people of Assam as a folk remedy to cure diabetes mellitus and help the researcher investigate unexposed antidiabetic medicinal plants. In this concern, an extensive literature survey was carried out through different books and electronic search engines to understand the cause of diabetes mellitus and their traditional herbal remedy. Here listed 92 plant species belong to 45 families that claim ethnomedical indication to treat various diabetes mellitus. The roots, rhizomes, stems, leaves, barks, bulbs, flowers, and even the whole plant are utilized as folk remedies to cure diabetes mellitus in the form of crushed juice, infusion, and decoction. The wide variety of plants that are being utilized to cure diabetes mellitus in this area supports the traditional value in their primary health care system of the various rural communities of Assam. The information will help the researcher find unexplored medicinal plants to develop a new therapeutic approach to develop new chemical entities, which are safe, effective, and inexpensive for isolation and identification of novel bioactive compounds.