Antidiabetic Role of Swertia chirayita: Phytochemical and Pharmacological Perspective of a Himalayan Botanical

As the Himalayan mountains and valleys keep on the continuous progression of their expansion during evolution, so does their cradle of medicinal plants. Humans started to find answers to various ailments by studying these medicinal plants. One such valuable medicinal plant from the Himalayas is called Swertia chirayita (Chiraito, SC), which shows a variety of therapeutic properties. SC has been shown to be effective in a wide therapeutic spectrum and acts as an anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory, hypoglycaemic, anti-diabetic, anti-obesity, anti-tumor, anti-microbial, and chemoprotective agent. Due to its numerous medicinal properties, it is one of the main ingredients in a variety of herbal preparations in Ayurveda, Unani, Siddha, Tibetian, and Traditional Chinese medicines. Apart from the traditional medicine systems, it is systematically mentioned under various pharmaceutical codexes like the Indian, UK, and American pharmacopeias. SC is significantly used as an anti-diabetic in various herb-based medicinal practices. Swertia chirayita is one of the very important plants known for its hypoglycaemic potential and hence exhibits a potential for the management of type II diabetes.

Keywords: Diabetes, Insulin, Phytochemicals, Swertia chirayita.