Abstract

Jamun or Syzygium cumini family Myrtaceae belongs to the angiosperms group of plants. Jamun has been used in India to treat diabetes since the Vedic era. Diabetes is not a fetal disease as such, but it results in several complications of different organs including the heart, kidney, etc. Diabetes has been increasing throughout the world due to lifestyle changes including alterations in food habits. Here an attempt has been made to delineate information on the use of Jamun in diabetes. The relevant information on the antidiabetic effect of Jamun has been collected by searching Google PubMed, Google Scholar, SciFinder, Science Direct, and various websites on the internet. The review provides an articulate overview of the botanical profile, phytochemistry, and antidiabetic properties of Jamun. In Ayurvedic medicine, Jamun is acrid, astringent, carminative, digestive, refrigerant, diuretic, and sweet-sour. Ethnomedicinally, Jamun has been used in the treatment of fever, piles, leucorrhea, wounds, stomachache, dental, gastric, and skin disorders. Different parts of Jamun have been used by Ayurvedic practitioners to cure arthritis, asthma, bowel spasms, diabetes, dysentery, flatulence, obesity, stomach pain, and urinary diseases. Modern scientific evaluation has shown the utility of Jamun to treat different diseases. The different phytochemicals including anthraquinones, alkaloids, cardiac glycosides, catechins, flavonoids, glycosides, steroids, phenols, saponins, and tannins are synthesized by Jamun. Jamun activates AKT, PPARα and PPARγ and increases fatty acid and glucose metabolism. Jamun inhibits the expression of Foxo-1, PGC1α, ACC1, SREPB1c, Scid 1, endoplasmic reticulum protein retention receptor (KEDL), and GPR98. The scientific evaluation of Jamun could help substantiate its ethnomedicinal use in the treatment of numerous disorders and may be a step forward in translational research for its medicinal use in modern medicine.