Medicinal Plants Effective on Diabetes in Northwest of Iran

Objective: Diabetes is the most common metabolic disease in the world and is considered one of the most important health problems worldwide.  Diabetes is one of the relatively common diseases in the world, the prevalence of which is always increasing. The prevalence of diabetes is also high in Iran. In traditional Iranian medicine, a large number of plants and minerals are used in the treatment of diabetes. The aim of the current review study is to identify and report the medicinal plants that are used in the northwest of Iran for the treatment of diabetes. Methodology: In this review study, the keywords of medicinal plants, Iran, diabetes, Urmia, Tabriz, Ardabil, West Azerbaijan, East Azerbaijan and ethnobotany were used to search for articles. Databases such as Google Scholar, SID, Magian, PubMed, Scopus were used for searching. Related ethnobotanical articles were used to review the texts. Results: Based on the review results, it was determined that medicinal plants include Apium graveolens, Alyssum desertorum, Arctium lappa, Avena sativa, Berberis integerima, Cerasus microcarpa, Crataegus aronia, Allium schoenoprasum, Urtica dioica, Phlomis aucheri, Salvia aethiopis, Melilotus officinalis, Tragopogon pratensis, Euphorbia helioscopia, Salvia officinalis, Salix aegyptiaca, and a number of other plants are used in the provinces of West Azerbaijan, East Azerbaijan and Ardabil to treat diabetes. Conclusion: Ethnobotanical knowledge of northwestern Iran is rich. The medicinal plants mentioned in this study can be investigated in clinical trial and pharmacological studies, and if antidiabetic effects are observed, they can be used to produce effective blood antidiabetic drugs for diabetic people.

Keywords:

Chronic disease , Diabetes , Medicinal plants , Traditional medicine , Northwest region , Iran