12/09/2018 / By Ellaine Castillo
There are more than 337 million people worldwide who are suffering from Type 2 diabetes. Many of these people spend their money on maintenance medications that are actually doing more harm to them than good. Fortunately, with the discovery of natural products that have antidiabetic potential, people won’t have to depend on these harmful medications anymore. A group of researchers from Universiti Putra Malaysia was able to prove that wild cosmos (Cosmos caudatus) can be used as a potential treatment for Type 2 diabetes.
Type 2 diabetes is a metabolic disorder wherein the body’s ability to transport glucose to the cells is impaired. This occurs due to insulin resistance or insufficient insulin production. Since glucose builds up in the bloodstream, it remains inaccessible to the cells that need it to produce energy. If not managed correctly, Type 2 diabetes can cause serious complications like cardiovascular disease, kidney failure, nerve damage, and deteriorating vision.
Prescribed medications for diabetic patients are associated with unwanted side effects like weight gain, diarrhea, kidney and liver damage, and hypoglycemia. Aside from having side effects, antidiabetic medications are also not effective for everyone who takes them. This means that there are some people who are wasting their money on antidiabetic medications that are doing nothing but harm them.
Wild cosmos is a widely used medicinal herb in tropical countries. It is commonly utilized for its antidiabetic, antihypertensive, and anti-inflammatory properties. Previous studies have shown that this plant is rich in bioactive compounds like ascorbic acid, quercetin, proanthocyanidin, chlorogenic acid, and catechin. The presence of these phytochemicals can be attributed for the different medicinal properties of the plant. Although there have been previous studies on the antidiabetic potential of wild cosmos, none of them were conducted on type 2 diabetes patients.
In this study, which was published in BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine, the researchers looked at the therapeutic effects of wild cosmos extracts on patients with Type 2 diabetes. This was done through a randomized clinical trial and a subsequent metabolomic analysis. Metabolomics is a method of determining changes in metabolites present in a patient. This is important to note for diabetes patients since, as previously mentioned, Type 2 diabetes is a disease that affects metabolism.
A person’s metabolic profile is influenced by external factors. So for this experiment, the researchers considered different parameters like dietary intake and physical activity, in addition to the biochemical assessment. Aside from these, the researchers also evaluated the safety of the extracts.
Metabolomic analysis of the participants showed that wild cosmos can alleviate Type 2 diabetes. In addition to this, the researchers also observed that the extracts did not have any adverse side effects on the participants. This proves that wild cosmos has potential use as a treatment for Type 2 diabetes, which is great news for everyone who has the disease or is at risk of getting it. (Related: 40% of Americans now expected to develop type 2 diabetes during lifetime.)
For the people that do not have diabetes, it is important to know the different factors that can increase their risk of getting it so that they can change their lifestyle accordingly. Risk factors for Type 2 diabetes include the following:
Learn more about the potential use of wild cosmos in treating diabetes by visiting DiabetesCure.news today.
Sources include:
BMCComplementAlternMed.BioMedCentral.com
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alternative medicine, antidiabetes, antidiabetic medication, Cosmos caudatus, diabetes, herbal medicine, herbal remedy, Herbs, natural medicine, natural remedy, prevention, Type 2 Diabetes, wild cosmos
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