Originally published November 27 2005
Study shows cherries may help diabetics produce more insulin
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
The Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry has published a study that claims anthocyanins, chemicals found in cherries, can expand insulin production by 50 percent and may aid doctors and patients in the fight against diabetes.
Chemists have identified a group of naturally occurring chemicals abundant in cherries that could help lower blood sugar levels in people with diabetes.
In early laboratory studies using animal pancreatic cells, the chemicals, called anthocyanins, increased insulin production by 50 per cent, according to a study in the American Chemical Society's Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry.
Anthocyanins are a class of plant pigments responsible for the color of many fruits, including cherries.
They also are potent antioxidants, highly active chemicals that have been increasingly associated with a variety of health benefits, including protection against heart disease and cancer.
"It is possible that consumption of cherries and other fruits containing these compounds [anthocyanins] could have a significant impact on insulin levels in humans," said study leader Dr Muralee Nair, a natural products chemist at Michigan State University in East Lansing.
Until human studies are done on cherry anthocyanins, those with diabetes should continue following their doctor's treatment recommendations, including any medicine prescribed, and monitor their insulin carefully.
The compounds show promise for both the prevention of type 2 (non-insulin-dependent) diabetes, the most common type, and for helping control glucose levels in those who already have diabetes, the researcher added.
While fresh cherries and fruits containing these anthocyanins are readily available, medicinal products may be the most efficient way to provide the beneficial compounds, according to Nair.
Scientists in Nair's laboratory have even developed a unique process, patented by the university, for removing sugar from fruit extracts that contain anthocyanins.
Nair and his colleagues tested several types of anthocyanins extracted from these cherries against mouse pancreatic-beta cells, which normally produce insulin, in the presence of high concentrations of glucose.
The compounds are found in both sweet and sour cherry varieties.
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