The islands of Trinidad and Tobago are known for having a long list of medicinal plants that are used by many locals, as a part of traditional healing and to improve and maintain health. Below are a list of some of these plants that have historically been used as antidiabetics (use against diabetes) on these islands.

Plants Historically used as Anti-diabetics in Trinidad and Tobago

Scientific Name	Family 1	Local Name(s)	Plant Part	Distribution / Native Range2
Abrus precatorius L.	Fabaceae	crab eye/ licorice/ jumbie bead	aerial parts	Native to Africa, temperate and tropical Asia, Australia & the Pacific; naturalized in the neotropics.
Ageratum conyzoides (L.) L.	Asteraceae	zeb-a-fam	root	Native to South America and the Caribbean; naturalized and/or cultivated globally
Aloe vera (L.) Burm. f.	Xanthorrhoeaceae	aloes	not specified	Native to Canary Islands and North Africa; widely cultivated and naturalized
Annona muricata L.	Annonaceae	soursop	not specified	Neotropical origin – West Indies; naturalized across the tropics; widely cultivated
Antigonon leptopus Hook. & Arn.	Polygonaceae	coralita	vine	Native to Mexico & Central America; naturalized and cultivated elsewhere
Aristolochia rugosa Lam.	Aristolochiaceae	matroot	whole plant	Native to South America and the Caribbean
Aristolochia trilobata L.	Aristolochiaceae	twef or tref	leaves	Native to South America and the Caribbean; often cultivated
Artocarpus altilis (Parkinson ex F.A.Zorn) Fosberg	Moraceae	breadfruit	yellowing leaves	Native to tropical Asia--Melanesia and Polynesia; naturalized in the Pacific; cultivated throughout the tropics
Azadirachta indica A. Juss	Meliaceae	neem/nim or neeb	leaves	Native to tropical Asia; naturalized and cultivated elsewhere
Bidens pilosa L.	Asteraceae	needle grass/ railway daisy	leaves	Exact native range obscure—includes North, Central and South America as well as the Caribbean; naturalized widely
Bixa orellana L.	Bixaceae	roucou/ruku	leaves, root	Native to American tropics; excl. Caribbean; cultivated and naturalized elsewhere in tropics
Bontia daphnoides L.	Scrophulariaceae	olive bush	leaves	Native to the Caribbean and Venezuela
Cajanus cajan (L.) Millsp.	Fabaceae	pigeon peas	leaves and stems	Widely cultivated in the tropics; originated in India
Cannabis sativa L.	Cannabaceae	ganja/marijuana	leaves, shoots and seeds	Probable origin - Central Asia; now widely naturalized and cultivated globally
Carica papaya L.	Caricaceae	paw-paw	green fruit	Native to S. Mexico and Central America; naturalized in the Caribbean & African tropics; cultivated elsewhere
Catharanthus roseus (L.) G. Don	Apocynaceae	periwinkle	whole herb (flowers, leaves, root)	Native to Madagascar; naturalized and cultivated in tropics and subtropics
Chromolaena odorata (L.) R.M. King & H. Rob.	Asteraceae	Christmas bush	flowers	Native in neotropics, incl. Caribbean; naturalized and cultivated in tropics worldwide
Cissampelos pareira L.	Menispermaceae	pataçon	root	Native range from Mexico to Argentina and incl. Caribbean
Citrus x aurantium L.	Rutaceae	sour orange	fruit peel	Widely cultivated in tropics and subtropics; hybrid (C. reticulata x C. maxima)3 originating in China
Coccinia grandis (L.) Voigt.	Cucurbitaceae	parwar/ wild cucumber/ ivy gourd	leaf juice	Native to Asia, African tropics and Australia; naturalized in Fiji; cultivated elsewhere
Cocos nucifera L.	Arecaceae	coconut	shell, flower	Native to parts of tropical Asia (including South East Asian islands and South margin of India), Pacific and Australia; widely naturalized and cultivated
Cola nitida (Vent.) Schott & Endl.	Malvaceae	obie seed	seed	Native to West African tropics; cultivated elsewhere
Colubrina arborescens (Mill.) Sarg.	Rhamnaceae	mauby	bark	Native to Central and North America (N.B. localized to south Florida), and the Caribbean
Cordia curassavica (Jacq.) Roem. & Schult.	Boraginaceae	black sage	not specified	Native range from Mexico to Argentina and incl. Caribbean
Cymbopogon citratus (DC.) Stapf	Poaceae	fever grass	not specified	Originated in SE Asia; naturalized in Argentina and Chile; cultivated elsewhere.
Eryngium foetidum L.	Apiaceae	bandhaniya/ fit weed/shado beni	leaves, roots	Native to Central and South America & the Caribbean; naturalized elsewhere including N. America (Dade county, Florida)
Gomphrena globosa L.	Amaranthaceae	bachelor button	leaves	Widely cultivated & naturalized, exact native range obscure; probable origin -Neotropics
Ipomoea aquatica Forssk.	Convolvulaceae	kharmi bhaji	leaves and tender stems	Native to S.E. Asia (Austin 2007)4; naturalized elsewhere including the Americas and the Pacific; widely cultivated
Laportea aestuans (L.) Chew	Urticaceae	stinging nettle	leaves	Native to tropics in Africa and America, incl. Caribbean; naturalized elsewhere
Leonotis nepetifolia (L.) R. Br.	Lamiaceae	shandilay	not specified	Originated in tropical Africa; naturalized across pantropics
Momordica charantia L.	Cucurbitaceae	coraillee/ caraaili	leaves, fruit	Native to Africa, Asia and Australia; naturalized in American tropics; widely cultivated
Moringa oleifera Lam.	Moringaceae	saijan	leaves	Native to Indian subcontinent; cultivated elsewhere
Morus alba L.	Moraceae	pawi bush	not specified	Native to temperate Asia; widely naturalized and cultivated in temperate and tropical areas
Musa x paradisiaca L.	Musaceae	silk fig	leaves	Indo/Malaysian origin; widely cultivated
Neurolaena lobata (L.) R.Br. ex Cass.	Asteraceae	zeb-a-pik/ zebapique	leaves	Native to American tropics, incl. Caribbean
Passiflora quadrangularis L.	Passifloraceae	barbadine/ granadilla	leaves	Originated in neotropics; widely cultivated in the tropics
Persea americana Mill.	Lauraceae	zaboca/avocado	seed	Originated in Central America – Mexico & Guatemala; naturalized in Pacific.
Phyllanthus amarus Schumach. & Thonn.	Phyllanthaceae	seed-under-leaf	not specified	Native to tropical America, incl. Caribbean; naturalized in paleotropics
Phyllanthus urinaria L.	Phyllanthaceae	seed-under-leaf	not specified	Native to temperate and tropical regions in Asia as well as the western Pacific; naturalized elsewhere in the tropics
Pityrogramma calomelanos (L.) Link	Pteridaceae	stamp fern	whole plant	Native to neotropics, incl. Caribbean; naturalized in paleotropics
Ruellia tuberosa L.	Acanthaceae	minny root	root, leaves	Native to Central America; naturalized in South America & Caribbean and across paleotropics
Scoparia dulcis L.	Plantaginaceae	sweet broom	whole herb	Neotropical origin; widely naturalized in tropics and subtropics
5 Senna fruticosa (Mill.) H.S. Irwin & Barneby	Fabaceae	christmas bush	flowers	Native to Mexico and Central America, excl. Caribbean
5 Senna italica Mill.	Fabaceae	senna	not specified	Native to Africa, tropical and temperate regions in Asia; naturalized in Venezuela
Spermacoce verticillata L.	Rubiaceae	white head broom	whole herb	Native in neotropics from Mexico to Paraguay; incl. the Caribbean; naturalized elsewhere
Spiranthes acaulis (Sm.) Cogn.	Orchidaceae	lapsogen	not specified	Native in Central to South America and Trinidad and Tobago
Spondias mombin L.	Anacardiaceae	hog plum	leaves	Native to tropical America; obscure native range in West Indies; widely cultivated in paleotropics
Stachytarpheta jamaicensis (L.) Vahl	Verbenaceae	vervine/ vervain	not specified	Native to American tropics, incl. Caribbean; widely naturalized in paleotropics & Polynesia

1. Listing of Family names based on information from Stevens (2001) and The Plant List (2013)
2. Unless indicated otherwise, places of origin / distribution ranges were sourced from GRIN (2016) and Tropicos (2016)
3. IPNI (2012) entry for Citrus aurantium L. indicates probable hybrid of C. maxima x C. reticulata
4. Austin 2007, states that Ipomoea aquatica originated in S.E. Asia (includes China & India) but was introduced elsewhere.
5. Originally listed as Cassia spp, these species have been assigned to the genus Senna based on shared floral morphology as described in Irwin and Barneby 1982.

Source: Angelle L. Bullard-Roberts. Medicinal Plants of Trinidad and Tobago: Selection of Antidiabetic Remedies (Florida International University)

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