ABSTRACT
Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a metabolic disorder in which the ability to produce insulin is defective or there is resistance to the action of insulin at the cellular level culminating in raised levels of glucose in the blood. The option to look for alternative antidiabetics from plant origin arose as the conventional antidiabetic drugs were expensive and tagged with a variety of associated side effects. The potential of antidiabetic plants was explored and their active principles isolated which generally contained alkaloids, flavonoids, steroids, and organic acids. The antidiabetic plants not only delayed the diabetic complications but also proved to be rich sources of antioxidants which already had an established role to play in delaying the onset of this disease. Latest molecular techniques like omics help in providing in-depth knowledge about the active constituents of the medicinal plants, their characterization, pharmacokinetics, toxicological studies, and most importantly the standardization and quality control of the antidiabetic plant derivatives. Recent molecular techniques like DNA sequencing, DNA fingerprinting, and DNA microarrays help us in the identification of the biomedical resources 126and extend their help in differentiating simultaneous molecular effects of mixtures on various chemical agents. Thus, omics technology helps in the standardization and modernization of antidiabetic medicinal plants.
