Garlic chemical tablet treats diabetes I and II
A drug based on a chemical found in garlic can treat diabetes types I and II when taken as a tablet, a study in the new Royal Society of Chemistry journal Metallomics says.
When Hiromu Sakurai and colleagues from the Suzuka University of Medical Science, Japan, gave the drug orally to type I diabetic mice, they found it reduced blood glucose levels.
The drug is based on vanadium and allaxin, a compound found in garlic, and its action described in an Advance Article from Metallomics available free online from today. The first issue of the new journal will be published in 2009.
In previous work they had discovered the vanadium-allaxin compound treated both diabetes types when injected, but this new study shows the drug has promise as an oral treatment for the disease.
Type I diabetes (insulin dependent) is currently treated with daily injections of insulin, while type II (non-insulin dependent) is treated with drugs bearing undesirable side-effects - the authors note neither treatment is ideal.
The researchers aim to test the drug in humans in future work.
http://www.rsc.org/AboutUs/News/PressReleases/2008/GarlicDiabetes.asp
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November 19, 2008
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Comments
Promising
November 20, 2008 by Anonymous, 1 year 4 days ago
Comment id: 32956
Let's hope the human clinical trials prove these effects. Any practical means of reducing blood sugar will assist in preventing complications that can be potentially life threatening. Gum disease, for example, interacts with elevated blood sugar in ways that worsen both conditions and contribute to significantly increased risks of catastrophic health events like heart attack and stroke. We write extensively about how to lower blood sugar and even reverse gum damage through routine dental therapy.
- Dr. Charles Martin
Founder, Dentistry For Diabetics
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