Bitter Melon, Diabetes and Exercise
Bitter melon is a fruit used in cooking around the world. It has been used historically as a treatment modality for diabetes and as a stimulant for digestion, dyspepsia, constipation, demulcent and as an inflammation modulator. It has been theorized to contain bioactive compounds effective for treating HIV infection. These compounds have been identified as glycoprotein lectins.
Recently, four other bioactive compounds were identified that serve to activate the enzyme AMPK, a protein known for regulating fuel metabolism and enabling glucose uptake. The study, published in the Journal Chemistry and Biology, claims that now the mechanism for why bitter melon works as a treatment for diabetes is known. The bioactive compounds, upon activating AMPK, help to produce the effects that exercise has on diabetes – stimulating the movement of glucose transporters to the cell surface to increase the uptake of glucose from the circulation and take it to the tissues in the body. Essentially speaking, bitter melon imitates the effects of exercise on glucose uptake in the body. Exercise activates AMPK in muscle. The two functions are very similar. It is a major reason exercise is recommended in the treatment of diabetes.
“We can now understand at a molecular level why bitter melon works as a treatment for diabetes” states Professor James, Director of the Diabetes and Obesity Program at Garvan. “By isolating the compounds we believe to be therapeutic, the triterpenoids, we can investigate how they work together in our cells”. Garvan scientists stress that while there are well known diabetes drugs on the market that also activate AMPK, they can have side-effects. Some of the compounds identified are completely novel and hope is on the horizon for a new way to treat diabetes without the side effects of other drugs that have similar mechanisms. The search is on at Garvin for a novel pathway to treat diabetes utilizing an herb known for centuries to be effective at treating this disease.
About the Author
Kathy Shattler received her Master of Science degree from Michigan State University in E. Lansing Michigan in Human Nutrition. Her twenty-two years of practice includes holding positions as a Lecturer, Chief Clinical Dietitian and Program Manager. Kathy is the Founder of Nutri-Care Consulting and is currently the Nutrition Director of www.CEU4U.COM, an online continuing education management company for Registered Dietitians and Dietetic Technicians.
