Diabetes care and wound healing using nauclea latifolia, Manihot esculenta, and other natural products

Abstract

Wound healing occupies a significant and growing field of research in the current trends of biomedical sciences. The wound healing process is highly complicated and becomes more complex in nature when it is linked with the diabetic state, which single-handedly is a global health substantial burden. A prominent feature associated with diabetes complications is diabetic foot ulcer. As a result of diabetic glycation and the associated complications, wound healing remains a therapeutic challenge. Especially in the elderly, the treatment for these wounds is fast becoming a major financial challenge as it consumes a great deal of healthcare resources. Treatments available today for these wounds are very expensive, hence the shift to traditional, complementary, and alternative therapy from plant sources, and has gained wide acceptance rising from the availability of scientific evidences that have continuously confirmed folklore especially in Africa and Asia. This chapter presents an overview of how medicinal plants and other natural products have been used to treat diabetes, and wounds with special focus on Nauclea latifolia and Manihot esculenta.