Mukia maderaspatana (Linn.) M. Roemer: A potentially antidiabetic and vasoprotective functional leafy-vegetable

Mukia maderaspatana (Linn.) M. Roemer, (Family: Cucurbitaceae) [syn.: Melothria maderaspatana (L.) Cogn.], is distributed throughout the tropics and subtropics of the Old World. Different organs of the drug-plant are utilised in Ayurveda, Siddha, Naturopathy and Folkloric traditional medicines of India as well as the indigenous medical systems of the Sub-Saharan African, Asian and Australian communities for health-care needs. The leafy vegetable is reported to exhibit potent antioxidant capacity in vitro and in vivo and to possess anti hypertensive, vasodialatory, antihyperglycemic, antihyperlipidemic, hepatoprotective, immunomodulatory, antiinflammatory, antirheumatic, antiulcer, anxiolytic, antimicrobial, and antiplatelet aggregation activities. The present review is an attempt to highlight, for the first time, the current clinical and experimental evidences available in literature on the extent of its potentials to protect against vascular events and diabetes.