Diabetes mellitus: economic and health burden, treatment and the therapeutical effects of Hypoxis hemerrocallidea plant

Abstract

Diabetes mellitus (DM) is becoming one of the leading causes of death worldwide because of its adverse complications that include cardiovascular related diseases and chronic kidney disease. DM is considered a menace to public health due to the unavailability of adequate drugs to manage this condition, especially in poor developing countries such as those in the African continent. Proper management and treatment of this is lacking, which possibly explains escalating percentages of morbidity and mortality associated with it. In Africa, as a result of poor socio-economic conditions, it is nearly impossible to properly monitor and manage DM. Globally, the commercially available drugs used in diabetes treatment regimens have been associated with drastic side effects and are also mostly unaffordable in some developing countries (particularly in Africa), hence the need to investigate cheap and readily available medicinal plants such as Hypoxis hemerocallidea. It is important to thoroughly investigate the activities of medicinal plants in animal models to identify both their therapeutic and toxic effects. This review paper examines the potential anti-diabetic benefits of Hypoxis hemerocallidea based on experimental studies done on this plant between the years 2000 and 2016. The authors recommend that further studies on the different extracts of the plant be undertaken to discover the exact mechanisms of their action