Diabetes Mellitus (DM) is one of the most prevalent metabolic disorders characterized by increased blood glucose levels and improper primary metabolism resulting from the defects in insulin secretion, insulin action, or both. It is one of the most common health problems worldwide, and the prevalence of this disease is rapidly increasing, leading to microvascular (retinopathy, neuropathy and nephropathy) and macrovascular (heart attack, stroke and peripheral vascular disease) complications. Phytochemicals identified from medicinal plants present an exciting opportunity for the development of new types of therapeutics for diabetes mellitus. Most prevalent among phytochemical groups are the alkaloids, glycosides, polysaccha- rides, and phenolics such as flavonoids, terpenoids and steroids. Medicinal plants are the main source of organic compounds such as polyphenols, tannins, alkaloids, carbohydrates, terpenoids, steroids and flavonoids. These organic compounds represent a source for the discovery and development of new types of antidiabetic molecules. Many compounds isolated from plant sources have been reported to show antidiabetic activity. They should be incorporated in food ingredients, dietary supplements, or drug preparations. Despite the availability of known antidiabetic medicines, remedies from phytochemicals are used with success to treat this disease. Use of antioxidants and phytochemicals can be a great help in tissue repair by quenching the free radicals generated due to oxidative stress. Hence, this article provides a comprehensive review of the available information on various aspects of phytochemicals, with special reference to their effectiveness in risk reduction of diabetes lipotoxicity. The key messages summarize some recent information in the field of antidiabetic phytochemicals.
