Brief update on Indian herbs and spices used for diabetes in rural area of Chhattisgarh

Ayurveda is a holistic science that was discovered several years ago. It is preventive as well as curative. Ayurveda is highly popular and mainly followed in India. India leads the world with largest number of diabetic subjects earning the dubious distinction. This equates to approximately three new cases every ten seconds or almost ten million per year. International diabetes federation also estimates that as many as 183 million people are unaware that they have diabetes. Diabetes has emerged as a major health care problem worldwide. Management of pre-diabetes can be done effectively with the help of combination therapies. For prevalence and treatment there are many ways such as drugs (modern medications), alternative systems like Ayurvedic, diet, lifestyle intervention and recently herb and spice therapies are seen useful and effective. A list of medicinal plant which mostly used in rural area of Chhattisgarh for treatment of diabetes is compiled in this review. This review is focused mainly on the beneficial effects of herbs and spices in the management of diabetes. It utilizes the traditional knowledge and experimental scientific studies to support the use of herbs and spices in diabetes.