Systematic Review of Medicinal Plants Used for Treatment of Diabetes in Human Clinical Trials: An ASEAN Perspective

Table 1

Completed summary of all data extractions of selected published literature articles on human studies and medicinal plants in the management of type 2 diabetes mellitus in ASEAN countries.

Author(s), year of publication, study design	Plant name and type of extraction	Country participant description, no. of dropouts	Duration and type of treatment	Study outcome	Brief methods, e.g., blood test
Mayasari et al., 2018	Rosella with stevia	Yogyakarta, Indonesia	14-day treatment	Posttreatment	Venous blood samples collected for FBG and 2-hour PBG
Quasi-experimental research study	As ready-to-brew rosella-stevia bags	24 prediabetic women	(1) Fast for 8 hours the night before the first day of treatment, to withdraw participants’ blood for fasting blood glucose readings	Tea consumption significantly lower FBG level but not the 2-hour PBG level
	(i) 5 g rosella powder
	(ii) 125 mg stevia sweetener	Aged 30–60 years
		2 groups (control and treatment group)	(2) Each participant was given 75 g sugar in 250 ml water and rested for 2 hours, for 2^nd blood withdrawal as 2-hour postprandial blood glucose
	Each rosella-stevia tea bag is brewed with 250 ml of boiling water for 5 mins and cooled down for 20–30 minutes before consuming	3 dropouts (80% less compliance)	(3) Treatment group
			(i) Ready-to-brew rosella-stevia tea 2x per day for 14 days
Dans et al., 2007	M. charantia (Bitter melon)	Manila, Philippines	3-month treatment:	No significant effect on mean FBG, total cholesterol, and weight or on serum creatinine, ALT, AST, sodium, and potassium	Each monthly visit:
Randomized double-blind, placebo-controlled trial	As charantia ampalaya capsules vs. placebo capsules	40 patients with newly diagnosed or poorly controlled type 2 diabetes with A1c levels between 7% and 9%	(1) M. charantia capsules or placebo:		(i) Capillary blood sugar levels
			(i) 2 capsules, 3 times per day after meals for 3 months		(ii) Interviewed on compliance and adverse events
		Aged 18 years and above	(ii) Monthly follow-ups		(iii) Diet and medications reinforced
					Lab test:
					(i) HbA1C
					(ii) Fasting blood glucose
					(iii) Serum cholesterol
					(iv) Weight
					Extra:
					(i) Serum creatinine, AST, ALT, sodium, potassium
					Adverse events
Sukandar et al., 2014	Curcuma longa (turmeric) with A. sativum L. (garlic)	Bandung, Indonesia	For 12-week treatment:	(i) Significant decrease in FBG of AC group (192.76 vs. 141.71 mg/dL) and 2 hours postprandial blood glucose (295.35 vs. 204.35 mg/dL)	Evaluated every 2 weeks for 12 weeks
Double-blind, randomized control trial	As drug (allium curcuma) in the form of capsules:	36 patients with type 2 diabetes (males and females) aged over 35 years	(1) AC group:		(i) Fasting blood glucose
	(i) 200 mg of turmeric ethanolic extract, 200 mg of garlic aqueous extract	(i) Random blood glucose at least 200 mg/dL, fasting blood glucose level at least 126 mg/dL with or without dyslipidemia	(i) 2.4 g Allium curcuma capsules		(Ii) 2 hours postprandial
	Vs.		(ii) 2 times, 3 capsules per day after meal		(iii) Lipid profile examination
	Oral drug		(2) Glibenclamide group:	(ii) Significant decrease in HbAlC 10.41 vs. 8.09)	On week 2 and week 14, examination on:
	(ii) 5 mg glibenclamide	2 groups	(iii) 2 times 3 capsules per day		(iv) HbA1C. Fasting insulin, liver function, renal function, complete hematology, urine and heart function
		AC group = 17	(iv) But for morning after meal, each consumed 1 capsule of 5 mg glibenclamide, and 2 capsules as placebo
		Glibenclamide group = 12	(v) Evening after meal, each consumed 2 placebo capsules

Data extracted from each study include title, author(s), journal, year and country of publication, study characteristics (study design, study duration), characteristics of participants (gender, age, sample size), plant type and extractions, intervention (type of treatment) and control used, number of dropouts, methods, and results from the studies.