Metformin: A Beginner's Guide

By >> Guin Van Niekerk

For centuries people have used French Lilac (Galega officinalis) to treat the symptoms of diabetes mellitus. But it was only in the last century that the active ingredient was isolated and identified. This compound, a single guanidine ring, while itself being too toxic to be used in the long term management of diabetes, led to the development of one of the safest and most widely used of all the antidiabetic medications: metformin.