May Achillea Species Be a Source of Treatment for Diabetes Mellitus

Abstract

Abstract In this report, the botanical properties and chemical contents of the genus Achillea belonging to the Asteraceae family, which are very common in the world, are given. The plant is extremely rich in terms of sesquiterpen lactone and volatile oil content. Despite the fact that many activity studies (antimicrobial, antioxidant, antiprotozoal, antiulcer, insecticidal, wound healing, antiinflammatory, antinociceptive, anxiolitic, anticancer, antispasmodic, hepatoprotective, estrogenic, cytotoxic, and choleretic) have been conducted on the genus Achillea, in particular in this chapter, detailed informations about antidiabetic and hypoglycemic activity studies of this species have been presented. In the light of literature data, it can be said that the in vitro and in vivo antidiabetic and hypoglycemic activity studies on the genus Achillea are very limited. Therefore, more detailed experiments should be designed on promising species (Achillea biebersteinii, Achillea millefolium, and Achillea santolina).