Diabetes, Herbal Medicines and Associated Risks

Mohammad K

Published on: 2023-12-15

Abstract

Herbal medicine is a good complementary and alternative treatment for diabetes, in spite of some of its deficiencies. Diabetes, as we all aware, is a global health problem. Here in this paper, we try to summarize the roles of some herbs and their extracts and formulas as nutritional supplements in the treatment of diabetes. Herbal medicine is mainly used to treat diabetes through its different properties.

The global herbal medicine market size was valued at USD 151.91 billion in 2021 and the market is projected to grow from USD 165.66 billion in 2022 to USD 347.50 billion by 2029, and expected to be 5 trillion by 2050.

Herbs, especially some herbal formulas, contain a variety of ingredients, and it is difficult to accurately identify the active ingredients and toxic ingredients. Adulteration of herbal supplements with synthetic drugs is illegal. The FDA has issued letters warning a number of domestic and international companies selling products claiming to treat, cure, prevent, or mitigate diabetes and related complications (e.g., blindness, nerve damage, kidney failure, heart disease, lower-extremity amputations, etc.) to consumers with diabetes.

The drug ingredients in these dietary supplements have the potential to cause serious adverse health effects owing to accidental misuse, overuse, or interaction with other medications, underlying health conditions, or other pharmaceuticals within the supplement. These deceptive products can harm public health.

The present Study also aims to increase consumer awareness about the risk of adulterated antidiabetic herbal products confirmed through the thin layer Chromatographic studies. Parameters for the source were systematically optimized, and the limits of detection (LODs) in herbal supplement were measured. This method was successfully applied to examine a number of commercial herbal dietary supplements, and two third of them proved to be adulterated with sulphonyl urea without mentioning in the ingredient list.