Ginger could help control diabetes
Ginger could help manage high levels of blood sugar which create complications for long-term diabetic patients. A
new report reveals the potential power of ginger to control blood
glucose by using muscle cells. Ginger extracts were able to increase
the uptake of glucose into muscle cells independently of insulin, says
Basil Roufogalis, professor of pharmaceutical chemistry, University of
Syndey, who led the study.
"This assists in the management of
high levels of blood sugar that create complications for long-term
diabetic patients, and may allow cells to operate independently of
insulin," says Roufogalis, the journal Planta Medica reports.
"The
components responsible for the increase in glucose were gingerols --
the major phenolic components of the ginger rhizome. Under normal
conditions, blood glucose level is strictly maintained within a narrow
range, and skeletal muscle is a major site of glucose clearence in the body," says Roufogalis, according to a Sydney statement.
The
pharmacy researchers extracted whole ginger rhizomes obtained from
Buderim Ginger and showed that that one fraction of the extract was the
most effective in reproducing the increase in glucose uptake by the
whole extract in muscle cells grown in culture.
Analysis by colleagues Colin Duke and Van Tran from Sydney's Faculty of Pharmacy showed this fraction was rich in gingerols.
Ginger could help control diabetes
