The Introduction of Submitted Approaches in Iranian Traditional Medicine for Treatment of Diabetes

BACKGROUND: Diabetes mellitus is a complex disorder of carbohydrate metabolism. According to past studies, the word ziabites in Iranian traditional medicine (ITM) correlate with diabetes. The aim of this study was to identify the definition, therapeutics, and mechanism of diabetes from the resources of ITM in order to provide new recommendations for the treatment of diabetes. METHODS: We searched therapeutic ITM books such as Exir-e-Aazam, Tibib-e-Akbari, as well as material medical ITM books such as Makhzan-ol-Advieh and Tohfat-ol-momenin to find topics on ziabites. We also searched ScienceDirect and PubMed databases with keywords “herbal medicine” and “diabetes” to confirm the effectiveness of the reported methods. RESULTS: We identified 17 ITM books that referred to ziabetes. We also determined that there were different mechanisms and dosage forms for the management of ziabites. The number of materials related to ziabites mechanisms in Makhzan-ul-Adwiah was 138. For instance, Asperugo procumbens amplifies liver and Cucurbita maxima diminish kidney temperature. Forms of administration recommended in Eksir-e-Aazam include oral, inhalation, rectal and topical; among which oral and inhalation have been verified by conventional medicine. We also found articles that substantiated the antidiabetic effect of some medicinal herbs mentioned in Exir-e-Aazam. CONCLUSION: There are several forms of administration recommended in ITM for the treatment of diabetes, which have not been used in conventional medicine. Hence, reported solutions can be analyzed for the management of diabetes. Notably, there are many herbs mentioned in ITM that remain to be studied. Therefore, further studies are required to substantiate their effects scientifically in order to develop new effective drugs.