~ 343 ~ Journal of Medicinal Plants Studies 2017; 5(2): 343-347 ISSN (E): 2320-3862 ISSN (P): 2394-0530 NAAS Rating 2017: 3.53 JMPS 2017; 5(2): 343-347 © 2017 JMPS Received: 18-01-2017 Accepted: 19-02-2017 Rashmi Patekar Ph.D scholar, Department of Dravyaguna Vigyana, National Institute of Ayurveda, Jaipur, Rajasthan, India M.L Jaiswal Associate Professor, Department of Dravyaguna Vigyana, National Institute of Ayurveda, Jaipur, Rajasthan, India Correspondence Rashmi Patekar Ph.D scholar, Department of Dravyaguna Vigyana, National Institute of Ayurveda, Jaipur, Rajasthan, India Survey of some traditionally used anti-diabetic plants in Amboli region of Maharashtra, India in perspective of Ayurveda Rashmi Patekar and M.L Jaiswal Abstract Medicinal plants play an important role in improving health and are gaining acceptability worldwide. Various ethnomedicinal studies had been conducted in India to document the medicinal plants used by tribals in various regions. The region Amboli lies in the Sahayadri Hills of Western India and represents dense and diversified vegetation. It is also called as Eco Hotspot of Western Ghats, abound with a variety of unusual flora. The people inhabiting here generally rely on the plants for treatment of diseases for primary health care. So the study was conducted to highlight some more frequently used traditional medicinal plants in Amboli region to treat diabetes. Local healers, traditional practitioners were interviewed in a well structured manner about the plants, its formulations, preparation methods and doses for treating diabetes. Total 18 plants were reported to be used in the treatment of diabetes in Amboli region. Among them Salacia chinensis, Salacia macrosperma, Casearia esculenta, Alstonia scholaris, Tinospora cordifolia, Gymnema sylvestris, Andrographis paniculata, Curcuma longa etc. were most frequently used plants. Ayurveda classics were referred for identification and proper documentation. Further research is needed to preserve some potent species of folklore plants and to preserve the knowledge of indigenous communities. Keywords: Diabetes, traditional remedies, ayurveda, Amboli-Western Ghats, India 1. Introduction In the Universe there exist three sources of dravya-minerals, animal products and plant materials [1] . On the basis of easy availability, abundance and economic, plants have been the basic source of therapeutic agents used more frequently by human resources. In spite of regular change in the lifestyles of people, there are a large number of tribal communities / native people, still utilizing the plant genetic resources as medicine occurring in their surrounding vegetation. WHO has estimated that 80% of the world’s population relies on traditional medicine for primary health care [2] . There has been increasing interest in recent years in ethno-biological studies mainly because of the renewed interest in traditional medicine. According to a survey conducted by WHO, uses of medicinal plant remedies are on the increase even in developed countries especially among young generation. Diabetes (Prameha) is a chronic metabolic disorder caused by a relative or absolute lack of insulin in the body. Its primary characteristic is a high level of sugar in the body in the fasting or post meal stages [3] . It has been the major problem rising more rapidly in middle and low income countries. WHO projects that diabetes will be the 7 th leading cause of death in 2030. At present the International Diabetes Federation estimated that 194 million people live with diabetes worldwide and this number will rise to 333 million in 2025 [4] . It is a complex metabolic disorder posing a huge challenge before the conventional biomedicine in prevention and cure of this disease. Invention of new hypoglycemic agents in the management of diabetes is in continuous process but still efforts are failed to achieve the target goal. Existing treatments such as insulin or other modern pharmaceuticals simply modify the course of diabetic complications due to the multifactorial nature of the disease [5] . So there is need to find out an alternative medicine in the treatment of this disease. Many traditional treatments has been recommended in the complementary and alternative system of medicine for treatment of diabetes [6] . Traditional medicines give a clue to the development of new drug and neutracuticals from the available natural resources. More than 400 plant species having hypoglycemic activities has been reported in the literature up till now [7] .