Phytotherapy as a complementary therapeutic alternative for patients with Diabetes Mellitus in Brazil

a systematic review

Abstract

Introduction: Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a group of metabolic disorders that stand out for their high prevalence and incidence in Brazil. Thus, phytotherapy emerged as a low cost complementary alternative therapeutic for patients affected by this pathology. Objective: To conduct a systematic review on the use of medicinal plants in diabetic patients, to define their mechanisms of action and to identify gaps in knowledge and challenges to be faced for their wide use. Methodology: A systematic search was carried out in the Scielo, Lilacs and PubMed databases. Then, inclusion and exclusion criteria were applied, leaving 10 articles to the present work. The data were tabulated in three tables and subsequently analyzed. Results: The studies were published between the years 2007 and 2018, five of which were observational, four pre-clinical experimental and only one clinical. The majority (60%) were published in Portuguese. Among the clinical and pre-clinical studies (50%), all of them confirmed the reduction of blood glucose after treatment with specific medicinal plants. Discussion: Several benefits of phytotherapy have been identified, such as: low cost, ease of obtaining, among others. Highlight was given to Bauhinia forficata and Syzygium cumini, plants of broad empirical use. The main metabolic effects provided by medicinal plants are the reduction of glycemia and oxidative stress. The need to follow up on studies in the area was identified, as well as the training of professionals and the community. Conclusion: Phytotherapy presents itself as an important therapeutic alternative for diabetics in Brazil, however, knowledge gaps still need to be filled.

Keywords: Diabetes Mellitus. Hypoglycemic Agents. Medicinal Plants. Phytotherapy.