Abstract:
The scope of this study is to describe the ethnobotany
of medicinal plants used in the management of diabetes mellitus
(DM) among diabetic patients attending the Teaching Hospital,
Jaffna. A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted
among 388 patients attending the medical clinic of Teaching
Hospital, Jaffna, using systematic sampling technique. Data were
collected using a validated structured interviewer-administered
questionnaire and were analysed to generate the summary of the
percentages using descriptive statistics. Family Important Value
(FIV) and Related Frequency Citation (RFC) were calculated
to quantitatively determine the common consent between the
informants on the use of endemic medicinal plants in the division.
A total of 59 species belonging to 33 families were reported by
329 diabetic patients with the response rate of 100%. Among
them Moringa oleifera Lamk. (142) was stated as the species with
the highest RFC value, followed by Gymnema sylvestre (105),
Momordica charantia Linn. (104). Moringaceae was the most
dominant family with FIV 43.16. The value of RFC of the plants
mentioned in this survey varied from 0.003 to 0.432. Moringa
oleifera Lamk. showed the highest RFC value (0.432). In this
study, 29 plant species used for DM management were reported
for the first time in Sri Lanka. Further, antidiabetic property of
Achyranthus polygonoides, Argyreia pomacea Wall. ex Choisy
and Cassia tomentosa are yet to be investigated. These findings
facilitate the documentation and the conservation of medicinal
plants used for DM by the patients in Teaching Hospital, Jaffna,
Sri Lanka. Moreover this study open doors for phytochemical
screening and identification of new antidiabetic active compounds.
