GRAPE SKIN EXTRACT FOR DIABETES
The diabetes rate in
the United States nearly doubled in the past 10 years. Approximately 26 million
Americans are now classified as diabetic, stressing an urgent need for safe and
effective complementary strategies to enhance the existing conventional
treatment for diabetes.
Preliminary studies
by researchers at Wayne State University have demonstrated that grape skin
extract (GSE) exerts a novel inhibitory activity on hyperglycemia and could be
developed and used to aid in diabetes management. Recently funded by the
National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine of the National
Institutes of Health, this $2.1 million transitional study will provide
insights into the novel inhibitory action of GSE on postprandial hyperglycemia
and will also provide preclinical data in support of the biological
effectiveness and safety of GSE and its components in potential prevention and
treatment of type 2 diabetes.
“It is hopeful that
our research may eventually lead to the successful development of a safe,
targeted nutritional intervention to support diabetes prevention and
treatment,” said Kequan Zhou, Ph.D., assistant professor of food and nutrition
science in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, and lead investigator on
the grant. “Our study will provide important pre-clinical data regarding the
anti-diabetic mechanisms, biological efficacy and safety of GSE that should
facilitate eventual translation into future clinical studies to assess GSE and
its components as a safe, low-cost and evidence-based nutritional intervention
for diabetes.”
Type
2 diabetes is the most common form of diabetes. With type 2 diabetes, the body
does not produce enough insulin or the cells ignore the insulin. In addition,
some groups have a higher risk for developing type 2 diabetes, including
African Americans, Latinos, Native Americans, Asian Americans/Pacific
Islanders, and the elderly.
“Type
2 diabetes is one of the major chronic diseases of modern societies," said
Gloria Heppner, Ph.D., associate vice president for research at Wayne State
University. "It threatens the health of a variety of populations, with
growing numbers of young people being diagnosed with the disease every day. Dr.
Zhou’s study offers great hope for a potential treatment that is natural and
without harmful side effects for the many people inflicted with type 2
diabetes.”
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