Chinese herbs have proven successful in treating type 2 diabetes.
Research published in the British Journal of Pharmacology finds that emodin, a naturally recurring chemical found in Chinese herbs including Rheum palmatum and Polygonum cuspidatum, lowered blood glucose and and serum insulin when administered to mice with diet-induced diabetes.
Emodin was also found to have bolstered insulin resistance and promoted healthier blood lipid levels while lowering body weight and central fat mass.
The benefits result from emodin’s functioning as a potent selective inhibitor of 11β-HSD1, the enzyme that aggravates insulin resistance, according to a summary of the research in Science News. Emodin could also help in treating other metabolic disorders, says lead author Ying Leng of the Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica in the Science News report.
The next step will be to develop chemicals with similar traits as emodin and then test them for use as therapeutic drugs, Leng says.
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