Popular functional foods and herbs for the management of type-2-diabetes mellitus: A comprehensive review with special reference to clinical trials and its proposed mechanism

Diabetes mellitus (DM) and its related complications are the serious public health concern globally. This is the first review highlight on major functional foods and herbs with anti-diabetic activity particularly focus on type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) with special reference to clinical trials and their proposed anti-diabetic mechanisms. This contribution summarizes the current prevalence of DM, etiology and pathophysiology, complications related to DM, current conventional treatment regimen for T2DM as well as complimentary therapy for anti-DM activity (functional foods/herbs-nutraceuticals). Based on the literature survey, authors conclude that co-intervention of functional food/herbs (adjuvant therapy) with a conventional hypoglycemic drug with modified lifestyle pattern could significantly improve glycemic control and abolish DM associated complications. Nevertheless, further clinical trials are required to confirm the safety and efficacy of different functional food/herbs with the conventional hypoglycemic drug (holistic) especially the dosage/duration/mode of administration are crucial to avoid adverse effect and to improve glycemic control.