Responsible for yellow color in turmeric - curcumin - can be beneficial against diabetes.


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Such were the findings of a joint Korea-US study.

A mouse model of diabetes was used to test the effects of curcumin on various variables and significant improvements were reported for insulin resistance and glucose tolerance, report the scientists from Sunchon National University and Kyungpook National University in Korea, and Columbia University in the US.

The researchers, led by Mi-Kyung Lee, used diabetic mice, so-called db/db mice, and non-diabetic controls, named db/+. The animals were fed diets with or without added curcumin (0.02 per cent) for six weeks.

They report that the diabetic mice supplemented with curcumin experienced lower blood glucose levels, than the controls. The animals also lost less weight.

I guess it is worth waiting if the results of the mice study will translate into humans.

Activity of the glucokinase enzyme in the liver was higher in the diabetic mice following the curcumin-supplemented diet than in the diabetic control group. This enzyme plays a key role in the conversion of glucose into glycogen, the body's main carbohydrate stores. This would blunt the glucose rise following the meal.

"These results suggest that curcumin seemed to be a potential glucose-lowering agent and antioxidant in type 2 diabetic db/db mice, but had no affect in non-diabetic db/+ mice," they concluded.

Besides, curcumin have already been known to have health benefits against cardiovascular diseases, Alzheimer's disease and even cancer.

Find more details from NutraIngredients.