Traditional herbal medicines used for the treatment of diabetes among two major tribal groups in South Tamil

Medicinal plants used to treat diabetic conditions are of considerable interest and a number of plants have shown varying degrees of hypoglycaemic and antihyperglycaemic activity. An ethno-medico-botanical survey was carried out among the Kani and Paliyar tribals in southern Western Ghats of Tamil Nadu for the exploration of antidiabetic herbal medicines. They frequently use ten species of plants for the treatment of diabetes either in single or in combination with some other plant parts. The wealth of tribal knowledge on medicinal plants points to a great potential for research and the discovery of new drugs to fight diseases including diabetes, obtaining new foods and other new uses