ERROR 1
ERROR 1
ERROR 2
ERROR 2
ERROR 2
ERROR 2
ERROR 2
Password and Confirm password must match.
If you have an ACS member number, please enter it here so we can link this account to your membership. (optional)
ERROR 2
ACS values your privacy. By submitting your information, you are gaining access to C&EN and subscribing to our weekly newsletter. We use the information you provide to make your reading experience better, and we will never sell your data to third party members.
Diabetes is characterized by the malfunction or death of insulin-producing pancreatic β cells, which can lead to insulin deficiency and poorly regulated blood sugar levels. Two research groups have now shown that natural products can prevent this cellular disruption. Their findings could lead to the development of diabetes remedies.
One group reports that gardenia fruit extract, a traditional Chinese medicine used to treat the disease, contains a compound that reverses the dysfunction of β cells in pancreatic tissue from mice. Bradford B. Lowell of Harvard Medical School, Chen-Yu Zhang of Harvard Medical School and Nanjing University in China, and colleagues identified genipin as the active compound in the medicine (Cell Metab. 2006, 3, 417).
Another team studied the suspected link between female sex steroids and the lower prevalence of diabetes in females. Franck Mauvais-Jarvis of Baylor College of Medicine and coworkers found that estradiol, the main estrogen compound in humans, protects β cells from damage and prevents diabetes in mice of both sexes (Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, published online, www.pnas.org/cgi/doi/10.1073/pnas.0602956103).
Join the conversation
Contact the reporter
Submit a Letter to the Editor for publication
Engage with us on Twitter