Shanti Bhushan Mishra

Medicinal Plants and Type II Diabetes Shanti Bhushan Mishra

Many plants have been used for the treatment of diabetes mellitus in Indian system of medicine and in other ancient systems of the world. Out of these only a few have been evaluated as per modern system of medicine. From many such plants only extracts have been prepared and their usefulness evaluated in experimental diabetes in animals. Since the plant products have less side effects, they have the potential as good hypoglycemic drugs. They may also provide clues for the development of new and better oral drugs for diabetes. The present study deals with extracts of plants named Amaranthus spinosus (leaf), Strychnos potatorum (seed) and Saraca asoca (flower) known for their antidiabetic activity. Amongst the various methods of quality monitoring , qualitative and quantitative analysis the of chemical compounds of plant drug constituents is an important and reliable part as any change in quality of the drugs directly affects the constituents. In this regard the present investigations were conducted with a view to standardize the selected plant drugs based on their respective phytoconstituents using the chromatographic (HPLC & HPTLC) techniques.