OREGANO AND ROSEMARY FOR DIABETES
The popular culinary
herbs oregano and rosemary are packed with healthful compounds, and now lab
tests show they could work in much the same way as prescription anti-diabetic
medication, scientists report. In their new study published in ACS' Journal of Agricultural and Food
Chemistry, they found that how the herbs are grown makes a difference,
and they also identified which compounds contribute the most to this promising
trait.
Elvira
Gonzalez de Mejia and colleagues point out that in 2012, type-2 diabetes
affected more than 8 percent of Americans and cost the country $175 billion.
Some people can manage the disease with exercise and changes to their diet, and
others take medication. But not everyone can stick to a new lifestyle or afford
the prescription drugs necessary to keep their blood-sugar level in check.
Recent research has shown that herbs could provide a natural way to help lower
glucose in blood. So Gonzalez de Mejia's team decided to take a closer look.
They
tested four different herbs, either greenhouse-grown or dried commercial
versions, for their ability to interfere with a diabetes-related enzyme, which
is also a target of a prescription drug for the disease.
They
found that greenhouse herbs contained more polyphenols and flavonoids compared
to the equivalent commercial herbs. But this didn't affect the concentration
required to inhibit the enzyme. Commercial extracts of Greek oregano, Mexican
oregano and rosemary were better inhibitors of the enzyme, required to reduce risk
of type-2 diabetes, than greenhouse-grown herbs. The researchers say more
studies are needed to understand the role of these compounds in reducing the
risk of type-2 diabetes in humans.
Comments
Post a Comment