Irvingia gabonensis, Urena lobata and Carica papaya are used by many Nigerians to treat diabetes mellitus and experimental findings have found them to be both hypoglycemic and anti-diabetic. The knowledge of the chemical constituents of plants would be valuable in discovering the actual value of folkloric remedies. This study thus examined the preliminary proximate and phytochemical analyses of these medicinal plants so as to better understand their therapeutic effects. The high fiber and carbohydrate contents of I. gabonensis bark and U. lobata leaves and the high carbohydrate content of C. papaya leaves, as well as the presence of phytochemicals such as saponins, tannins etc show that these medicinal plants contain substances which possess recognizable hypoglycemic/anti-diabetic, anti-obesity, anti-hyper-lipidemic, as well as anti-oxidant effects. Since most of the long term complications of diabetes have been attributed to oxidative stress caused by chronic hyperglycemia; these medicinal plants may not only possess anti-hyperglycemic properties, but they may also be useful in combating long term diabetes complications.
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