New research shows an antioxidant found in grapefruit has promise as a treatment for type 2 diabetes and metabolic syndrome.
The study finds naringenin, which is derived from the bitter flavor of grapefruits and other citrus fruits, seems to cause the liver to break down fat and increase insulin sensitivity, dLife.com reports.
The mechanism was similar to that of drugs such as the lipid-lowering Fenofibrate and the diabetes medicine Rosiglitazone, marketed as Avandia. The results were also suggestive of the body’s reaction to long periods of fasting, says senior study author Yaakov Nahmias in the dLife summary.
As a dietary supplement, naringenin could become vital in treatment of type 2 diabetes as well as hyperlipidemia and metabolic syndrome, dLife reports.
Researchers from Hebrew University of Jerusalem and Massachusetts General Hospital carried out the study, which appears this week in the online journal PLoS ONE.
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