Antidiabetic Activity of Ethno Medicinal Plant Scoparia dulcis L. (Family: Scrophulariaceae): A Review

Over the past decade, herbal medicines have been accepted universally, and they have an impact on both world health and international trade. Diabetes mellitus is a metabolic disorder in the endocrine system. This dreadful disease is found in all parts of the world and is becoming a serious threat to mankind health. There are lots of chemical agents available to control and to treat diabetic patients, but total recovery from diabetes has not been reported up to this date. Alternative to these synthetic agents, plants provide a potential source of hypoglycaemic drugs and are widely used in several traditional systems of medicine to prevent diabetes. Scoparia dulcis L. of family Scrophulariaceae has been documented as a traditional treatment of diabetes. The effect of this plant may delay the development of diabetic complications and correct the metabolic abnormalities using variety of mechanisms. This review focuses mainly on the antidiabetic activity of this ethno medicinal plant Scoparia dulcis L. and the phytochemicals responsible for this bioactivity isolated from this hypoglycaemic plant.