Pumpkin Extract May Enhance Insulin Sensitivity

A Herbal Remedy for Type 2 Diabetes and Polycystic Ovary Syndrome

Jul 11, 2009

Animal and human studies show D-Chiro-Inositol from pumpkins decreases high blood sugar and normalizes serum insulin levels.

Type 2 diabetics and women with polycystic ovary syndrome have one thing in common. Both are insulin resistant and have high levels of glucose in their blood.

Animal Study

Chinese researchers show that an extract derived from pumpkin rejuvenated beta-cells and restored insulin production in diabetic rats. If this investigation can be replicated in humans, consuming "pumpkin extract" may promote regeneration of damaged pancreatic beta-cells, boost insulin production by these cells, and increase serum insulin concentration. (Pancreatic beta-cells produce insulin - a hormone produced and secreted by the pancreas. It enables the muscles and other tissues to take up sugar from the blood).

In this study, the animals were divided into two groups: one group received a normal diet; the other group received a normal diet supplemented with pumpkin extract for 30 days. At the end of the study, the plasma insulin levels in the diabetic rats receiving the supplements were restored to 95% insulin levels in normal healthy animals. Moreover, the number of active beta-cells in the treated animals were restored to 92% of those in the normal healthy controls. "Pumpkin extract is potentially a very good product for pre-diabetic persons as well as those who have already developed diabetes," said the lead researcher Xia. Their study was published in the 2007 issue of J Science of Food and Agriculture.

Human and Primate Studies

In Type 1( Insulin-Dependent), Type 2 diabetes(Non-Insulin Dependent), and Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCO), researchers noted large urinary losses of D-chiro-inositol (DCI). They also noted that these population groups have lower muscle DCI bioactivity and total DCI content assayed through needle biopsies and autopsy specimens from type 2 diabetic subjects compared to controls (non-diabetics).

Intravenous administration of DCI to monkeys with varying degrees of insulin resistance hastened normalization of blood glucose and insulin suggesting that a deficiency in DCI may lead to insulin resistance, and that insulin administration may enhance insulin sensitivity and improve insulin action in insulin-resistant persons.

D-Chiro-Inositol (DCI)

D-chiro-inositol is an epimer or a product of inositol - a vitamin B. DCI is present in inositol-phosphoglycans (IPG) which are believed mediators of insulin action. To study DCI metabolism in diabetes mellitus, urinary losses were measured in non-diabetic, type 2 diabetics, and type 1 diabetic subjects.

It was found that average urinary DCI excretion per day was : 2.1 micromoles in non-diabetics, 12 micromoles in type 2 diabetics, and 74 micromoles in type 1 (Insulin-Dependent Diabetics). This indicates that renal clearance of DCI was selectively high in both types of diabetes. It was also noted that in poorly controlled diabetic patients, insulin administration reduced urinary DCI losses by 63%. Proceedings of the Natl. Academy of Sciences U.S. (PNAS) 1993

Women with PCO displayed similar urinary DCI losses. PCO is characterized by insulin resistance, associated with high urinary DCI clearance and impaired DCI release in response to insulin. These findings indicate that a defect in availability or utilization of DCI in PCO may contribute to insulin resistance.

Food Sources of D-Chiro-Inositol

References

Tao Xin & Qin Wang " Hypoglycemic role of Cucurbita ficifolia (Cucurbitaceae) fruit in Streptozotocin-induced

Cheang KI et al. "Insulin-stimulated release of D-chiro-inositol containing inositolphosphoglycan mediator correlates with insulin sensitivity in women with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome" Metabolism Oct.2008;57(10):1390-1397

Larner J "D-chiro-inositol: its fundamental role in insulin action and its deficit in insulin resistance"

The copyright of the article Pumpkin Extract May Enhance Insulin Sensitivity in Healthcare Research is owned by Alicia Richardson. Permission to republish Pumpkin Extract May Enhance Insulin Sensitivity in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.