Therapeutic Potential of Medicinal Plants and Their Phytoconstituents in Diabetes, Cancer, Infection, Cardiovascular Diseases, Inflammation and Gastrointestinal Disorders

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.