Potensi Tanaman Herbal Antidiabetes untuk Minuman Obat: Sebuah Literatur Review

Over the past few decades, an increase has occurred in the occurrence and prevalence of diabetes, with 1.5 million deaths recorded in 2012 alone. Currently, more herbal plants are being used as medicines including medicinal drinks, and these are rich in natural bioactive compounds. According to scientific evidence, these bioactive compounds provide many biological effects, for instance, antioxidant, antibacterial, and antidiabetic activities. However, one problem related to the use of herbal medicine is the inadequate research or scientific evidence of the plants’ efficacy. This article, therefore, provides a scientific description of medicinal plants proven to exhibit antidiabetic properties and suitable for developing medicinal drinks. A literature search conducted across the PubMed electronic database in April 2020, using the keywords “herbal tea” and “antidiabetic” obtained a total of 30 articles, and of these publications, 12 were in vitro studies, 16 were pre-clinical studies, while 2 clinical trials. Across the world, 35 types of herbal plants have been proven to exhibit antidiabetic activity, with the leaves being the most commonly used part. The in vitro mechanism of herbal plants in exhibiting this antidiabetic activity is through inhibition of α-Amylase and α-Glucosidase enzyme activity. In addition, pre-clinical and clinical trials showed each plant in this study was able to reduce blood glucose levels and were suitable for developing medicinal drinks.