
Swamy K B
Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin, Malaysia
Title: “Synsepalum dulcificum†(Miracle fruit): A future potential anti-hyperglycemic and other herbal medicinal plants that protect the health of Kuala Terengganu people in Malaysia
Biography
Biography: Swamy K B
Abstract
Introduction: The study of previous researchers Ali et al. (1992) revealed the prevalence of non-insulin dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM) and deviated glucose tolerance among the Aborigines (0.3%, 4.7%) and Malays (4.4%, 11.3%) respectively. A variety of studies indicated that Malays have a relatively high prevalence of type 2 diabetes compared with other Asian ethnic groups.
Aim: The aim of the study is to evaluate the frequency of herbal medicine usage among the Terengganu population in Malaysia by conducting a research through systematic-survey analysis to know how frequently and for what common diseases the herbal medicine was used.
Materials & Methods: 1520 respondents (male and female), ages between 14 and above 70 years were selected by systematic random sampling from 5 directional areas of Kuala Terengganu state in Malaysia. The statistical analysis was done by using SPSS 21.0 package.
Results: According to our analytical study, 68.82% of population was using herbal medicine and 31.18% were using western and other systems of medicine. The purpose of using traditional medicine for the curative purpose was 43.98% (n=460), preventive 30.31% (n=317), sexual health (10.99%, n=115), cosmetic reason 6.50% (n=68) and for others (8.22%, n=86). For the curative purposes, 57.39% respondents used it for curing hypertension (n=264), diabetes (13.48%, n=62), arthritis and heart failure (9.35%, n=43), peptic ulcer and other diseases (3.48%, n=16), bronchial asthma (1.3%, n=6) and cancer and renal stones (1.09%, n=5). We also identified to our surprise, 99 medicinally used plants in Terengganu among which Synsepalum dulcificum (Miracle fruit) was extensively used by people as an anti-diabetic herbal medicine.
Discussion: Our present study revealed that 68.82% of the population in Terengganu preferred herbal medicine than other systems of medication to use.
Conclusion: Our results coincided with the WHO statement that 70% of the world population prefer herbal medicine as the treatment for their ailments.