Herbal Infusions and Teas Taken Orally: What is not Taken into Account in the Phytotherapy of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus

Abstract

  Infusions, decoctions and teas made from hot drinking water and various medicinal plants are widely used in folk medicine and pharmacy in the Russian Federation and in the countries of Southwest Asia. In this study, the methods of ethnopharmacology and pharmacy were combined to clarify the mechanism of action of traditional herbal mixtures in the phytotherapy of type 2 diabetes mellitus.  The technology of preparation of infusions, decoctions and teas from medicinal plants and the quality of water are analyzed. It is shown that the traditional assessment of the pharmacological activity of herbal mixtures was previously considered only from the point of view of the biological activity of the main chemical components, without taking into account the influence of water, its volume, as well as without taking into account acidic, osmotic (hypotonic) activity and temperature of water extracts. However, it has been shown that drinking water is also the main active ingredient of water extracts, and the quality of water and its physical-chemical properties can be important in the effect on the body of patients. In particular, attention is drawn to the fact that ingestion of 250 ml of such aqueous extracts can dilute blood plasma, reduce the concentration of all substances in it, including glucose concentration, reduce osmotic activity of the plasma and promote the removal of glucose from the body due to its "washing". Therefore, traditional herbal medicine based on ingestion of 250 ml of aqueous extracts 2-4 times a day may be accompanied by hypoglycemia and a decrease in the concentration of all other ingredients in the blood plasma not so much due to the action of biologically active substances, but also due to the action of water. The process of reducing the concentration of glucose in the blood is more intense and significant, the faster the water is absorbed into the blood and the more water is drunk. It is also obvious that some of the glucose is excreted with water from the body during urination and sweating. Nevertheless, in order to give a definitive answer to the role of herbal teas and infusions in the phytotherapy of diabetes mellitus, new and more comprehensive pharmacological studies are required in the future, taking into account the volume of water and the physico-chemical properties of water extracts.