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Diabetes mellitus (DM), or simply diabetes, is a group of metabolic diseases in which a person has
high blood sugar, either because the body does not produce enough insulin, or because cells do not
respond to the insulin that is produced. This high blood sugar produces the classical symptoms of
polyuria (frequent urination), polydipsia (increased thirst) and polyphagia (increased hunger).
Conventionally, diabetes has been divided into three types namely: Type 1 DM or insulin-dependent
diabetes mellitus (IDDM) in which body fails to produce insulin, and presently requires the person
to inject insulin or wear an insulin pump. This is also termed as "juvenile diabetes". Type 2 DM or
non insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM), results from insulin resistance, a condition in
which cells fail to use insulin properly, with or without an absolute insulin deficiency. This type was
previously referred to as or "adult-onset diabetes". The third main type is gestational diabetes which
occurs when women without a previous history of diabetes develop a high blood glucose level during
her pregnancy. It may precede development of type 2 DM. Currently available pharmacotherapy for
the treatment of diabetes mellitus includes insulin and oral hypoglycemic agents. Such drugs acts by
either increasing the secretion of insulin from pancreas or reducing plasma glucose concentrations
by increasing glucose uptake and decreasing gluconeogenesis. However these current drugs do not
restore normal glucose homeostasis for longer period and they are not free from side effects such as
hypoglycemia, kidney diseases, GIT problems, hepatotoxicity, heart risk problems, insulinoma and
they have to take rest of life. Various herbal drugs have been also proved effective due to their
beneficial contents in treatment of diabetes. The present review therefore is an attempt to focus on
the physiological aspects of diabetes, its complications, goals of management, and synthetic and
herbal treatment of diabetes.
Key words: Insulinoma, hyperinsulinemia, adiponectin, Momordica charantia.