Medicinal plants for management of diabetes: alternative or adjuvant?

Diabetes mellitus induced-cardiovascular complications are the main cause of death in diabetic patients, and more than 65% of deaths among diabetic patients are due to heart failure and vascular abnormalities (1). Since the discovery of insulin by Banting and Best, insulin therapy has often been an important part of diabetes treatment in patients with diabetes of all types. Although insulin therapy delays some diabetes-related morbidity and complication by reducing hyperglycemia and glycosylated hemoglobin, some secondary complications related to diabetes, including heart disease, nephropathy, and hypertension, remain to be devastating conditions among diabetic patients (2). In addition, insulin-induced lipogenic and cholesterogenic actions as well as increased risk of hypoglycemia lead to devastating and fatal results in patients under long-term insulin treatment (3). Therefore, improved alternative antidiabetic approaches are urgently needed.