Ethnobotanical Survey and Preliminary Phytochemical Studies of Plants Traditionally Used for Diabetes in Eritrea

Aims: Identify and document medicinal plants used for the treatment of diabetes mellitus. Investigate the secondary metabolites present in those plants.

Study Design: A questionnaire was employed for the survey and different chemicals and reagents were used for phytochemical screening.

Place and Duration of Study: Ethnobotanical surveys were conducted between November 2013 and April 2014 in certain localities of Central and Southern Zones of Eritrea and the phytochemical screening was conducted in September 2014 in Kenya.

Methodology: The ethnobotanical data was collected by interviewing 66 informants using a questionnaire; the majority of informants were herbalist and individuals living with diabetes. The phytochemical screening was done using wet chemical analysis.

Results: The survey showed 42 different medicinal plants used for the treatment of diabetes. The plants fall into 24 families where by Apiacea (14.29%), Lamiaceae (9.52%), Fabaceae (9.52%) and Asteraceae (7.14%) were the most dominant. The most frequently used plant part was the leaf (42%). The phytochemical screening confirmed the presence of alkaloids, phenols, saponins, glycosides, and other bioactive secondary metabolites.

Conclusion: This study revealed that the use of medicinal plants can be of great help in intervention of the burdens for the treatment of diabetes.