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DiaMedBase ID |
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DMPCc184 |
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Medicinal Plant
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Opuntia streptacantha;
Cnidoscolus chayamansa; Eriobotrya japonica;
Aloe vera |
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Plant part(s)
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Whole plant |
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Objective |
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To study the alternative
treatments for diabetes |
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Journal Source
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Phytotherapy Research,
1998; 11(7):512-517 |
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Title
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The use of traditional
plant medicines for non-insulin dependent diabetes mellitus in south
Texas |
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Authors
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Polly Hitchcock Noël
1 *, Jacqueline A. Pugh
1 2, Anne C. Larme
1, Genevieve Marsh
1 2 |
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Address
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1The University of
Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, 7703 Floyd Curl Drive, San
Antonio, Texas 78284-7879, USA
2The
Audie Murphy Memorial Veterans Hospital; ALMMVA-UTHSCSA, Ambulatory
Care (11C6), 7400 Merton Minter Blvd., San Antonio, Texas 78284, USA |
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Abstract
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The use of traditional
plant medicines, as well as the factors associated with their use,
were documented in 662 outpatients with non-insulin dependent diabetes
mellitus enrolled at six primary care clinics in South Texas.
Forty-nine percent of the patients reported using alternative
treatments for their diabetes, which included 61 different traditional
plant medicines. The four most commonly reported were nopal (Opuntia
streptacantha) or the prickly pear cactus, chaya (Cnidoscolus
chayamansa), míspero (Eriobotrya japonica) or loquat, and
sávila (Aloe vera). Logistic regression was used to develop a
multivariate model which indicated that alternative medicine use is
positively associated with age and diabetes-related hassles, and was
more likely among border residents and individuals who were born in
Mexico. Disease severity was not associated with the use of
alternative treatments when controlling for other variables. Users of
alternative treatments also appeared just as likely to adhere to
orthodox biomedical treatment recommendations as non-users. While
preliminary reports in the literature suggest that some of the
identified plants have hypoglycaemic properties, information is
limited or nonexistent for many of the other plants. Given their
preponderance in this region, some of these plants should be targeted
for further investigation to document their efficacy or to screen for
toxicity. |
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Diseases |
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Disease Link |
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