Conditions like diabetes mellitus (DM), cancer, infections, inflammation, cardiovascular diseases (CVDs), and gastrointestinal (GI) disorders continue to have a major global impact on mortality and morbidity. Medicinal plants have been used since ancient times in ethnomedicine (e.g., Ayurveda, Unani, Traditional Chinese Medicine, and European Traditional Medicine) for the treatment of a wide range of disorders. Plants are a rich source of diverse phytoconstituents with antidiabetic, anticancer, antimicrobial, antihypertensive, antioxidant, antihyperlipidemic, cardioprotective, immunomodulatory, and/or anti-inflammatory activities. This review focuses on the 35 plants most commonly reported for the treatment of these major disorders, with a particular emphasis on their traditional uses, phytoconstituent contents, pharmacological properties, and modes of action. Active phytomolecules with therapeutic potential include cucurbitane triterpenoids, diosgenin, and limonoids (azadiradione and gedunin), which exhibit antidiabetic properties, with cucurbitane triterpenoids specifically activating Glucose Transporter Type 4 (GLUT4) translocation. Capsaicin and curcumin demonstrate anticancer activity by deactivating NF-κB and arresting the cell cycle in the G2 phase. Antimicrobial activities have been observed for piperine, reserpine, berberine, dictamnine, chelerythrine, and allitridin, with the latter two triggering bacterial cell lysis. Quercetin, catechin, and genistein exhibit anti-inflammatory properties, with genistein specifically suppressing CD8+ cytotoxic T cell function. Ginsenoside Rg1 and ginsenoside Rg3 demonstrate potential for treating cardiovascular diseases, with ginsenoside Rg1 activating PPARα promoter, and the PI3K/Akt pathway. In contrast, ternatin, tannins, and quercitrin exhibit potential in gastrointestinal disorders, with quercitrin regulating arachidonic acid metabolism by suppressing cyclooxygenase (COX) and lipoxygenase activity. Further studies are warranted to fully investigate the clinical therapeutic benefits of these plants and their phytoconstituents, as well as to elucidate their underlying molecular mechanisms of action.

Diabetes mellitus (DM) is currently regarded as a global public health crisis for which lifelong treatment with conventional drugs presents limitations in terms of side effects, accessibility, and cost. Type 2 diabetes (T2DM), usually associated with obesity, is characterized by elevated blood glucose levels, hyperlipidemia, chronic inflammation, impaired β-cell function, and insulin resistance. If left untreated or when poorly controlled, DM increases the risk of vascular complications such as hypertension, nephropathy, neuropathy, and retinopathy, which can be severely debilitating or life-threatening. Plant-based foods represent a promising natural approach for the management of T2DM due to the vast array of phytochemicals they contain. Numerous epidemiological studies have highlighted the importance of a diet rich in plant-based foods (vegetables, fruits, spices, and condiments) in the prevention and management of DM. Unlike conventional medications, such natural products are widely accessible, affordable, and generally free from adverse effects. Integrating plant-derived foods into the daily diet not only helps control the hyperglycemia observed in DM but also supports weight management in obese individuals and has broad health benefits. In this review, we provide an overview of the pathogenesis and current therapeutic management of DM, with a particular focus on the promising potential of plant-based foods.

Diabetes mellitus (DM) is currently regarded as a global public health crisis for which lifelong treatment with conventional drugs present limitations in terms of side effects, accessibility and cost. Type 2 diabetes (T2DM), usually associated with obesity, is characterized by elevated blood glucose levels, hyperlipidemia, chronic inflammation, impaired β-cell function and insulin resistance. If left untreated or when poorly controlled, DM increases the risk of vascular complications such as hypertension, nephropathy, neuropathy, retinopathy that can be severely debilitating or life-threatening. Plant-based foods represent a promising natural approach for the management of T2DM due to the vast array of phytochemicals they contain. Numerous epidemiological studies have highlighted the importance of a diet rich in plant-based foods (vegetables, fruits, spices, condiments) in the prevention and management of DM. Unlike conventional medications, such natural products are widely accessible, affordable, and generally free from adverse effects. Integrating plant-derived foods into the daily diet not only helps control the hyperglycemia observed in DM, but also supports weight management in obese individuals and has broad health benefits. In this review, we provide an overview of the pathogenesis and current therapeutic management of DM, with a particular focus on the promising potential of plant-based foods.

Conditions like diabetes mellitus (DM), cancer, infection, inflammation, cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) as well as gastrointestinal (GI) disorders continue to have a major global impact on mortality and morbidity. Medicinal plants have been used since ancient times in ethnomedicine (e.g. Ayurveda, Unani, Traditional Chinese Medicine, European Traditional Medicine) including treatment of a wide range of disorders. Plants are a rich source of numerous and diverse phytoconstituents that have demonstrated antidiabetic, anticancer, antimicrobial, antihypertensive, antioxidant, antihyperlipidemic, cardioprotective, immunomodulatory and/or anti-inflammatory activity. The current review focuses on the 30 plants most commonly reported for use in treatment of DM, cancer, infection, CVDs, inflammation and gastrointestinal disorders, with a particular emphasis on their traditional uses, phytoconstituents, pharmacological properties and modes of action. Plants with antidiabetic potential include Terminalia chebula, Zingiber officinale, Withania somnifera, Ocimum sanctum, Curcuma longa and Aframomum angustifolium. Plants with anticancer potential include Zingiber officinale, Aloe barbadensis, Annona muricata, Artocarpus heterophyllus and Azadirachta indica. Those with antimicrobial potential include Aframomum angustifolium, Aloe barbadensis, Capsicum frutescens and Centella asiatica. Those with potential in CVDs include Acacia Arabica, Allium cepa, Azadirachta indica and Catharanthus roseus. Plants with anti-inflammatory potential include Eriobotrya japonica, Aloe barbadensis and Ocimum sanctum Whereas those with potential in GI disorders include Musa paradisiaca and Aloe barbadensis. Further studies are warranted to fully investigate the clinical therapeutic benefits of these and other plants considered in this review, and to unravel the mechanisms of action of their bioactive phytoconstituents at the molecular level.