Natural Therapies show promise in controlling Type 2 diabetes

A senior lecturer in Biomedical Sciences at the University of Ulster, Dr Yasser Abdel-Wahab, and his team have demonstrated that the roots of a cucumber-like vegetable – a herb found in the forests of India — and extracts from the bark of a Himalayan plant, improved glucose tolerance in rats with diabetes.

If this result could be replicated in humans then it could be used to help control Type 2 diabetes, a condition where the amount of glucose in the blood is too high because the body does not produce sufficient insulin or can not use its insulin properly.

Dr Abdel-Wahab said researchers discovered that the bark of Swertia chirayita, a plant traditionally grown in the Himalayas and also known as chirette, indicated that some compounds extracted from the bark appeared to stimulate insulin production and improve its action.

“Natural anti-diabetic drug discovery is a key area of research that is attracting a lot of interest. More research is needed to establish definitively how and if our findings could be translated into new therapeutic agents for treatments for people with Type 2 diabetes, but we are hopeful that this will one day be the case,” he told a conference in Glasgow.

Many cultures have claimed for centuries that plants and natural extracts can be used to treat diabetes.

One such vegetable is called Momordica cymbalaria, and is similar to an ampalaya which is widely used in India and the Far East and is also known as karela, bitter melon or bitter gourd.

Yet another group of researchers have examined the effect of Gymnema sylvestre on the body’s ability to produce insulin. They determined that extracts from the herb, native to the tropical forests of India, appeared to have a direct effect on human insulin-producing cells found in the pancreas.

“Complementary therapy is an interesting but often understudied area of research for potential diabetes treatments,” said Dr Iain Frame, Director of Research at Diabetes UK.

“Although there is still a long way to go before we could say for certain that any of these plants can help to control Type 2 diabetes, it is important to continue investigating the possibilities,” he said.

“More research is needed before we can fully assess their true importance for the treatment of Type 2 diabetes.”

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