ETHNOBOTANICAL SURVEY OF MEDICINAL PLANTS USED TO TREAT DIABETES MELLITUS IN THE CIASEM REGION, SUBANG, WEST JAVA, INDONESIA

Diabetes mellitus (DM), one of the major public health problems worldwide, is a metabolic disorder of multiple etiologies distinguished by a failure of glucose homeostasis with disturbances of carbohydrate, fat and protein metabolism as a result of defects in insulin secretion and/or insulin action. Glycemic control is the main target of the treatment to prevent micro- and macrovascular and neurological complications of DM. This research aims to document and preserve the use of ethnomedicine to treat DM by people in the Ciasem Region, Subang, West Java, Indonesia. Fieldwork was carried out from May to June 2025 using direct interviews, questionnaires, and discussions. Plant species are identified based on standard taxonomic methods, flower morphological characteristics, and where possible, using samples for comparison, as well as consultation with experts and the literature. The plant types obtained were grouped into families according to the Cronquist classification system. Plant names were checked against the Plant List (www.plantlist.org) and the International Plant Name Index (www.ipni.org). This research reports that 30 plant species are commonly used by people in the Ciasem Region to treat DM. Among the various plant parts used, leaves (63.3%) are most frequently used in making medicines, followed by rhizomes (13.3%), fruit (6.7%), flowers (6.7%), stem, rind, and seed (respectively 3.3%). Meanwhile, the most frequently used preparation methods were decoction (76.7%) and infusion (23.3%). The results of this research confirm that people in the Ciasem Region still rely heavily on medicinal plants for their health care system, especially for the treatment of DM with the most frequently used parts of the leaves and their use in decoctions and infusions.