Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2018 Aug;12(5):549-556.
doi: 10.1049/iet-nbt.2017.0242.

Nanotechnological approaches for the development of herbal drugs in treatment of diabetes mellitus - a critical review

Saritha Marella  1 , Naga Venkata Krishna Vara Prasad Tollamadugu  2
Affiliations
Review

Nanotechnological approaches for the development of herbal drugs in treatment of diabetes mellitus - a critical review

Saritha Marella et al. IET Nanobiotechnol. 2018 Aug.

Abstract

Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a chronic illness that requires continuing medical care and patient self-management education to prevent acute complications and to reduce the risk of long-term complications. The number of people with diabetes is increasing due to population growth, ageing, urbanisation and increasing prevalence of obesity and physical inactivity. Apart from currently available therapeutic options, many herbal medicines have been recommended for the treatment of diabetes. Herbal drugs are prescribed widely because of their effectiveness, less side effects and relatively low cost. Several pharmacopoeias have provided parameters to maintain quality and standardise procedures in identification/authentication of herbal inputs and their products. Available literature related to folklore medicine used in the treatment of diabetes extended to nanoformulation of herbal drugs up to date was cited. The use of bioactive compounds leads to new hope to improve the life expectancy and health status of the population for the formulation of novel drugs. Recently, many studies have shown that nanotechnology has the potential to be used in different biological and medical applications, mainly as targeted drug delivery systems to minimise and delay the chronic effects of diabetes. Herein, the authors presented a thorough review of the available herbal medicines and the possibilities of developing their nanoformulations in the treatment of DM.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Classification of DM
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Metabolism in brief during diabetes
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Mechanism of action of medicinal plants
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
Mechanism of action of nanodrugs Courtesy: Palanivel Ganesan et al. 2017 [108]
Fig. 5
Fig. 5
Schematic representation of herbal nanomedicine and its therapeutic evaluation formula image – nanoherbal drug, formula image – diabetic rat. Characterisation studies of nanodrug followed by in vivo actions leading to ideal formulation of a herbal drug
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

References

    1. Alberti K.G. Zimmet P. Shaw J.: ‘International diabetes federation: a consensus on type 2 diabetes prevention’, Diabet Med., 2007, 24, pp. 451 –463 - PubMed
    1. Jain R. Chawari S.: ‘Advancements in the anti‐diabetes chemotherapeutics based on amino acids, peptides and peptidomimetics’, Mini. Rev. Med. Chem., 2005, 5, pp. 469 –477 - PubMed
    1. Shoback D. Gardner D.G.: ‘Greenspan's basic & clinical endocrinology’ (McGraw‐Hill Medical, New York, 2011, 9th edn.), ch. 17
    1. Armstrong D.G. Lavery L.A.: ‘Diabetic foot ulcers: prevention, diagnosis and classification’, Am. Fam. Physician., 1998, 57, (6), pp. 1325 –1332, pp. 1337–1338 - PubMed
    1. Snehalatha C. Ramachandaran A.: ‘Insight into the mechanism of primary prevention of type 2 diabetes: improvement in insulin sensitivity and beta cell function’. Genetic and Epigenetic Basis of Complex Diseases Conf. in Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology, December 2009.

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources