New treatments from Fruit
A fruit discovery could provide new treatments for some chronic diseases and their pre conditions ie obesity, type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease.
• 2 compounds found in red grapes and oranges combined could treat diseases
• Improved insulin resistance similar to bariatric surgery but achieved three times faster
• More effective at lowering blood sugar level in obese trial participants than diabetes drug Metformin
A combination of two compounds found in red grapes and oranges could be used to improve the health of people with diabetes, and reduce cases of obesity and heart disease.
This finding was made by University of Warwick researchers who now hope that their discovery will be developed to provide a treatment for patients.
Professor Thornalley who led research said:
“This is an incredibly exciting development and could have a massive impact on our ability to treat these diseases. As well as helping to treat diabetes and heart disease it could defuse the obesity time bomb.”
Research
‘Improved glycemic control and vascular function in overweight and obese subjects by glyoxalase 1 inducer formulation’ has been published in the journal Diabetes, and received funding from the UK’s innovation agency, Innovate UK.
The project was a collaboration between the University of Warwick and University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire. The team led by Paul Thornalley, Professor in Systems Biology at Warwick Medical School, studied two compounds found in fruits but not normally found together. The compounds are trans-resveratrol (tRES) – found in red grapes, and hesperetin (HESP) – found in oranges and lemons.
When given jointly at pharmaceutical doses the compounds acted in tandem to decrease blood glucose, improve the action of insulin and improve the health of arteries. ….more