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Cherries may hold clues for future diabetes treatment

Following a doctor’s advice on how
to keep diabetes in check is always the best course of action and
researchers are constantly on the lookout for compounds that someday
could help physicians better treat the disease.

Following a doctor’s advice on how to keep diabetes in check is always the best course of action and researchers are constantly on the lookout for compounds that someday could help physicians better treat the disease. Of special interest to chemists are naturally occurring compounds found in certain healthy foods and beverages. Often these compounds become the model or the active ingredient for new drug therapies that maximize the food’s beneficial effects. According to a recent study published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, researchers have identified a group of naturally occurring chemicals abundant in cherries that could help lower blood sugar levels in people with diabetes. In early laboratory studies using animal pancreatic cells, the chemicals, called anthocyanins, increased insulin production by 50 per cent, according to study leader Muralee Nair, Ph.D., a natural products chemist at Michigan State University in East Lansing. But you might want to limit the candied maraschino cherries, as they contain extra sugar and fewer beneficial cherry pigments, the researcher says.