Australian tropical medicinal plants and their phytochemicals with wound healing and antidiabetic properties

Abstract Diabetes remains a global health challenge, with increasing numbers of patients diagnosed annually. Managing diabetes, particularly type two diabetes (T2D), requires a healthy lifestyle and medication to prevent further complications. New and effective antidiabetic drugs derived from natural products, including medicinal plants, are urgently needed because of the undesirable side effects associated with current antidiabetic drugs. Australian Aboriginal people possess rich traditional knowledge of plants used for food and therapeutic purposes. Here, we reviewed the literature on Aboriginal medicinal plants and found that a total of 126 Australian tropical plant species belonging to 47 families and 88 genera were reported as being used for treating wounds and diabetes-related conditions. We found that 28 of these 126 species were edible, of which fruits were the most consumed part. Among the 126 species, crude extracts from 29 species have been tested for their antidiabetic properties, and crude extracts of Syzygium cumini and Morinda citrifolia were the most extensively studied. Crude extracts from some species (e.g., Morinda citrifolia , Eleocharis dulcis, and Brassica rapa ) have also been clinically evaluated in diabetic patients. Additionally, among 29 species, 374 pure compounds were isolated from 26 species. From the 374 isolated compounds, 51 have already been tested, out of which 16 were identified as antidiabetic drug leads. A total of 73 Aboriginal medicinal plants have not been tested for their phytochemical content or antidiabetic activity. These plants not only present potential targets for the biodiscovery of novel antidiabetic drug leads but also for the development of antidiabetic nutraceuticals based on traditional bush food knowledge. Graphical abstract