Diabetes mellitus disease is increasing rapidly and the incidences in 2010 were about 285 million people worldwide. This is projected to increase to 438 million in 2030. The conventionally used drugs possess many side effects. In addition, the cost of modern antidiabetic drugs is beyond the reach of most people with a low income. Because of this, the need for alternatives that are effective, cheap, and safe is very common.Plants and many plant derived preparations have long been used as traditional remedies for the treatment of diabetes in many parts of the world. Recently, ginger (Zingiber officinale) and green tea (Camellia sinensis) have been widely studied to assess their beneficial effects in treatment and prevention of diabetes mellitus. In vitro and in vivo studies evidenced the potential of ginger and green tea to normalize blood glucose level in diabetes mellitus. In this article we reviewed the various mechanisms through which ginger and green tea exert their hypoglycemic effect. Their pharmacokinetics and safety were also discussed. Results from previous studies revealed that ginger and green tea share some mechanisms of action to reduce blood glucose level in diabetes mellitus. Pharmacokinetics studies provided ample information about their absorption, distribution, and metabolism. Toxicological data exhibited their safety as complementary antidiabetic agents; therefore, a study on the administration of these two herbs simultaneously may be needed as they may exhibit a potential hypoglycemic action due to their synergistic or additive mechanisms of action in diabetes mellitus.

In recent years,green tea and ginger have become a subject of interest because of their beneficial effects on human health. The aim of the present study was to compare the effect of long term administration of green tea and ginger each alone to the effect of their combination on blood glucose level in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats. Method: A group of 50 male albino rats was divided into five groups (10 rats each group). The normal control group( NC) administered tap water, other animals were injected by streptozotocin 45mg/Kg body weight intraperitonially to induce diabetes mellitus and then divided into four groups ,diabetic control (DC) without treatment, diabetic group administered green tea extract for four weeks (DGT), diabetic group administered ginger extract for four weeks(DGI), and diabetic group administered mixture of green tea and ginger for four weeks (DGG), then we compare the blood glucose level at 1st,2nd,3rd, and 4th week of experiment. Results:We observed that in groups whose water drink was substituted by green tea and ginger extract, the blood glucose level was significantly( p less than 0.05) reduced as compared to diabetic animals. Importantly, we observed that blood glucose level was near control level when green tea was administered simultaneously with ginger extract.Conclusion: Combination of green tea and ginger may be of great value as hypoglycemic agent in diabetic patients, the synergism of their effect on glucose regulation process is underlying this results.

Vitamin D is a lipid-soluble substance that has two forms, vitamin D2 (ergocalciferol) and vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol). UV light is the main source of vitamin D that induces the conversion of 7-dehydrcholestrol to vitamin D in the skin. Food sources that contain a high amount of vitamin D are egg yolk, fish, and liver. Several studies revealed the wide prevalence of deficiency in Vit. D among the healthy population, in addition, different diseases have a relation with their inadequacy in the body. This review study summarized the results recorded by published articles in different regions in Iraq regarding vitamin D deficiency. The review concluded that there is a high prevalence of Vit. D deficiency among the population in different regions of Iraq.

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