Curcumin, a pigment derived from the spice turmeric, is well-known for its anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidant, cardio-protective and other health-enhancing benefits. According to a Joint US-South Korea study, the increasingly ubiquitous nature of curcumin’s benefits may now encompass insulin sensitivity, and thus may offer relief to diabetics.
The study itself was conducted with laboratory mice by scientists from Sunchon National University and Kyungpook National University in Korea, and Columbia University in the US. Using control and study groups, both diabetic and non-diabetic mice were fed diets with or without added curcumin (0.02 % content).
The results were that the curcumin-supplemented diabetic mice produced an average blood glucose level that was 22% lower than that recorded for their non-curcumin-fed counterparts after 6 weeks. Furthermore, the curcumin-fed group of diabetic mice experienced a significant increase of plasma leptin and insulin levels – 60% and 17% respectively – over non-curcumin fed diabetic mice. Of importance to the scientists was the fact that these hormone levels were not affected by curcumin supplementation in the non-diabetic mice. This trend was repeated with blood glucose, plasma insulin, and glucose regulating enzyme activities, leading the scientists to conclude that “curcumin seemed to be a potential glucose-lowering agent and antioxidant in type 2 diabetic db/db mice, but had no affect in non-diabetic db/+ mice.”
Seo, M.-S. Choi, U.J. Jung, H.-J. Kim, J. Yeo, S.-M. Jeon, M.-K. Lee. "Effect of curcumin supplementation on blood glucose, plasma insulin, and glucose homeostasis related enzyme activities in diabetic db/db mice (p NA)." Molecular Nutrition & Food Research. Published online ahead of print 8 April 2008.
For more information see Curcumin-95.
|
