diabetes

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Bitter gourd extract may bring sweet news to diabetics

 

Al Ain: A team of UAE scientists have extracted an anti-diabetes substance

from a commonly used vegetable bitter gourd, saying it can increase the

production of insulin.

 

The extract has been tested on diabetic rats where it showed significant

decrease in the blood glucose level. The substance, however, needs further

research and tests before it can be used as an anti-diabetic drug.

 

Professor Abdu Adem, from the Department of Pharmacology at the UAE

University and a member of the research team, said extensive tests were

needed to evaluate the toxicity and side effects of the substance.

 

Reading a research paper at the second day of the International Conference

on Recent Advances in Diabetes Mellitus and its Complications, he said

bitter gourd is among 400 plants that are believed to have substances with

anti-diabetic effects.

 

Scientifically called Momordica charantia, the bitter gourd is widely used

as a vegetable in the Middle East, the Indian-subcontinent, China and other

parts of the world. Professor Adem's paper was entitled: "Anti-diabetic

Herbs: Isolation of Potential Novel Anti-diabetic Drug Candidates." The team

includes five scientists from the UAE University and one each from the UAE

Ministry of Health and the Karolinska Institute of Sweden.

 

"We decided to isolate active anti-diabetic substance from the fruits of

Momordica charantia," Adem said.

 

Two substances, A and B, were isolated. However, only substance A showed

anti-diabetic activity by decreasing the blood glucose level significantly

in diabetic rats.

 

"Our data suggest that substance A can directly act on insulin-secreting

pancreatic B-cells regulating the production of insulin," he pointed out.

 

"One disadvantage with plant extracts as drugs is that they may also contain

toxic substances," he said.

 

RIYAZ,