Review of Sudanese Medicinal Plants Screened for Antidiabetic Activity

Introduction: Diabetes is a serious metabolic disorder and plenty of medical plants are used in traditional medicines to treat diabetes. These plants have no side effects, and many existing medicines are derived from the plants. The purpose of this systematic review is to study diabetes and to summarize the available treatments for this disease, focusing especially on herbal medicine. Methods: Scientific data bases were investigated for and screening through google engine for diabetes and effective plants informatics data. However, the investigation included Science direct, PubMed, Wiley, Scopus, and Springer. Out of the 100 collected articles (published in the period between 1997 and 2018). Results: Diabetes is mainly due to oxidative stress and an increase in reactive oxygen species that can have major effects. Many plants contain different natural antioxidants, in particular tannins, flavonoids, C and E vitamins that have the ability to maintain β-cells performance and decrease glucose levels in the blood. Conclusion: According to published results, it can be said that medical plants are more affordable and have less side effects compared synthetic drugs and are more effective in treatment of diabetes mellitus. Also order to harness these natural resources and maximize the socioeconomic benefits derivable from Sudanese medicinal plants efforts should be geared toward research funding and deployment of Research and Development (R & D) policy framework into medicinal plants research endeavors.