Sunday May 25, 2014 (foodconsumer.org) -- A study scheduled to be published in the July 5, 2014 issue of European Journal of Pharmacology suggests that β-amyrin palmitate isolated from Hemidesmus indicus roots may be used to treat type 2 diabetes mellitus.

A. Subramoniam in Kerala, India and colleagues conducted the study and found β-amyrin palmitate isolated from  H. indicus root extract possesses a highlt potent anti-hyperglycemic activity in an animal model, indicating that this ingredient may be potentially used to treat type 2 diabetes mellitus.

For the study,  β-amyrin palmitate was tested in both alloxan-induced diabetic rats and streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats to examine how this compound would affect the glucose tolerance in the animals.

The study shows that the anti-diabetes mellitus activity was high in both types of rats in a dose of 50 µg/kg body weight.

The researchers found β-amyrin palmitate helps type 2 diabetes mellitus by blocking "the entry of blood sugar from the intestine."

Type 2 diabetes mellitus is preventable in most cases.  An Indian study early showed that six grams of curcumin per day can completely prevent prediabetes from progressing to become type 2 diabetes mellitus. (David Liu, PHD)