Abstract

In this study, the medicinal plants used in the treatment of diabetes mellitus were inventoried. The ethnopharmacological information was obtained from 470 patients suffering from diabetes mellitus in different areas in the North Western and South Western Algeria; 266 of them were of type 2 diabetes. The results indicated that only 28.30% of patients interviewed used medicinal plants as treatment alone or in association with the conventional treatment of diabetes. 60 medicinal plants belonging to 32 families were cited, of which the most cited were: Trigonella foenum-graecum (56 citations), Rosmarinus officinalis (27 citations), Citrullus colocynthis (22 citations), Tetraclinis articulata (21 citations), Artemesia herba alba (20 citations), Origanum compactum (16 citations) andPunica granatum (16 citations). The plants families’ which contained the most commonly used species and their antidiabetic effects were: Asteraceae (8 species), Lamiaceae (8 species) and Apiaceae (4 species). Among these medicinal plants, five plants were known to be toxic: Nerium oleander, C. colocynthis, Zygophyllum album, Nigella sativa andPeganum harmala.

Key words: Ethnopharmacological survey, medicinal plants, traditional medicine, diabetes mellitus, Algeria.