Annona stenophylla, a Medicinal Herb with Potential for Treating Sugar Imbalances in Diabetes Mellitus

Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a chronic metabolic disease characterized by defective insulin secretion.
The disease poses a serious health risk to healthcare systems throughout the world. Complications
can lead to blindness, kidney failure, neuropathy, amputations, cardiovascular disease and stroke.
Globally, 600million people will be affected by 2030 and will require about USD2.3trillion to combat
the disease (WHO). The world drugs market for antidiabetic drugs is estimated to be USD68bln
mostly insulin and oral hypoglycaemics. Many traditional medicinal herbs are also in use with China
and India having formally registered a number of antidiabetic herbal drugs. Antidiabetic herbal drugs
may compliment or could have an advantage over modern drugs as they often heal by multiple
mechanisms and could be cheaper as well. Diabetes prevalence in Zimbabwe is estimated at 10% of
the population and is often associated with hypertension (prevalence 30%) obesity and HIV/AIDS
(13%). Worldwide, diabetes is an underlying condition for aggravated COVID-19 disease. Annona
stenopylla (Annonaceae) is an indigenous shrub used as a food plant and for treating a number of
ailments in traditional medicine which has also demonstrated hypoglycaemic effects and could be
used to alleviate some of the underlying conditions found in COVID-19 patients and coronavirus
survivors. Extracts of A. stenophylla have been found to contain secondary metabolites,
carbohydrates fatty acids, proteins and mineral elements; to have antimicrobial, analgesic,
antioxidant, antidiarrhoeal and dyslipidemic properties; to have hypoglycaemic and antidiabetic
properties in experimental animals and to act with several mechanisms and to be relatively safe in
acute toxicity tests. A. stenophylla is widely distributed in Zimbabwe, can be propagated and
cultivated sustainably. The development of its herbal drugs and polyherbal formulations could enable
the use of lower doses for treating DM and especially in conjunction with modern medicines.