Cataract: A major secondary complication of diabetes, its epidemiology and an overview on major medicinal plants screened for anticataract activity

Cataract is a visual impairment caused due to opacification or optical dysfunction of crystallin lens affecting more than 17 million people around the world. Even though the incidences of cataract are increasing day by day among the elderly persons but, still except surgery no other ways of treatment have been successfully developed so far. Thus, the aim of writing the present review is to provide an insight over the pathophysiological and etiological aspects of cataract along with discussing the remedies available for the disorder. The review also describes different experimental models with their relevant mechanism and significance such as galactose-induced, naphthalene-induced and selenite-induced cataract models which are mainly used for evaluating the anticataract activity of a particular drug (mainly of natural origin). The review includes list of plants and their phytoconstituents which have been so far evaluated pharmacologicaly for the treatment of cataract. From the survey, it was confirmed that the antioxidant property of plants phytoconstituents are basically responsible for their effective anticataract activity. Thus, the valuable information provided in the present review will help researches in developing an alternative method rather than surgery for the treatment of cataract which will minimize the rate of blindness due to cataract thus, benefiting and extending protective aspects of eyes, an integral part of human body.