ethnobotanical insights: medicinal plants of northwest iran in diabetes management

Objective: diabetes mellitus is a widespread metabolic disorder and represents a significant global health challenge. the prevalence of diabetes is steadily increasing, making it a prevalent health condition worldwide. the prevalence of diabetes mellitus is notably high in iran. traditional iranian medicine incorporates a diverse array of plants and minerals for the management of diabetes. this review aims to identify and evaluate the medicinal plants native to northwest iran that have been traditionally employed for the treatment of diabetes.methodology: this systematic review utilized a comprehensive search strategy to identify relevant literature on the use of medicinal plants for diabetes management in northwest iran. authoritative scientific databases, including google scholar, sid, magiran, pubmed, and scopus, were systematically searched using the following keywords: ’medicinal plants,’ ’iran,’ ’diabetes,’ ’urmia,’ ’tabriz,’ ’ardabil,’ ’west azerbaijan,’ ’east azerbaijan,’ and ’ethnobotany.’ the search results were filtered to include only ethnobotanical studies relevant to the research question.results: the review has highlighted the use of numerous medicinal plants, including apium graveolens, alyssum desertorum, arctium lappa, avena sativa, berberis integerima, cerasus microcarpa, crataegus aronia, allium schoenoprasum, urtica dioica, phlomis aucheri, salvia aethiopis, melilotus officinalis, tragopogon pratensis, euphorbia helioscopia, salvia officinalis, salix aegyptiaca, and many others, in the provinces of west azerbaijan, east azerbaijan, and ardabil for the treatment of diabetes. these plant species have been traditionally used in the folk medicine of the region for their presumed antidiabetic properties.conclusion: the region of northwest iran possesses a rich tradition of ethnobotanical knowledge. the medicinal plants identified in this review warrant further investigation through rigorous clinical and pharmacological studies. if these plants demonstrate anti-diabetic effects, they could potentially serve as a valuable source for the development of novel anti-diabetic drugs.