**2.1 Medicinal plants and DM**

As earlier defined by WHO, the cure for diabetes mellitus is possibly from the usage of medicinal plants in the form of herbal medicine whose remedies and proportion are involved in the control of the same. The scientific evidence and therapeutic application of the medicinal plants is the ultimate goal for the researchers and healthcare systems in the management of diabetes [11]. From the olden days, the management of severe diseases has its loophole in the potential of some medicinal plants which acts as drugs. These are having high belief that the drugs prepared from the medicinal plants are lesser side effects, and risk of toxicity is minimal and free from harmful effects [12]. Thus, World Health Organization recommends the usage of medicinal plants of traditional methods for the management of diabetes mellitus because of its lesser side effects when compared to the synthetic drugs. The usage of medicinal plants is extensively benefited worldwide for the management of various diseases in the pharmaceutical industry. Since plants are the rich source of phytochemicals whose benefits are countless and endless. In the pharma industries for most of the chronic diseases, the drugs are synthesized by using 50% of the medicinal plants from the historical origin [13].

**Figure 2.** *Prevalence of diabetes estimated by sex among 65–99 years old adult population [7].*

*Bioactive Molecules from Medicinal Plants as Functional Foods (Biscuits) for the Benefit… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.93352*

#### **Figure 3.** *Pathophysiology of type 2 diabetes mellitus.*

The complications of diabetes mellitus are countless, which leads to gradual impairment of vital body parts one by one. The challenging part of diabetes is its management for maintaining the blood glucose level to normal range. The traditional usage of medicinal plants for the management of diabetes because of the bioactive molecules present in it which fight against the condition [14]. From the ancient history, the medicinal plants are having its main role for the curing of many diseases which paves the way for the utilization of the same to the management of diabetes mellitus. Thus, our ancestors commonly used the medicinal plants in the food itself, and the leaf, stem, fruits, flowers, and roots all are utilized in the management of various diseases. This enlightens the idea of using medicinal plants in the management of DM.
