Studies related to diabecinn

Cinnamon extract prevents the insulin resistance induced by a high-fructosediet.

Department of Sports Medicine, Graduate School of Medicine, Nagoya University, Furocho,Chikusa-ku, Nagoya 464-8601, Japan.

The aim of this study was to determine whether cinnamon extract (CE) would improve the glucose utilization in normal male Wistar rats fed a high-fructose diet (HFD) for three weeks with or without CE added to the drinking water (300 mg/kg/day). In vivo glucose utilization was measured by the euglycemic clamp technique. Further analyses on the possible changes in insulin signaling occurring in skeletal muscle were performed afterwards by Western blotting. At 3 mU/kg/min insulin infusions, the decreased glucose infusion rate (GIR) in HFD-fed rats (60 % of controls, p < 0.01) was improved by CE administration to the same level of controls (normal chow diet) and the improving effect of CE on the GIR of HFD-fed rats was blocked by approximately 50 % by Nmonometyl- L-arginine. The same tendency was found during the 30 mU/kg/min insulin infusions. There were no differences in skeletal muscle insulin receptor (IR)-beta, IR substrate (IRS)-1, or phosphatidylinositol (PI) 3-kinase protein content in any groups. However, the muscular insulinstimulated IR-beta and IRS-1 tyrosine phosphorylation levels and IRS-1 associated with PI 3-kinase in HFD-fed rats were only 70 +/- 9 %, 76 +/- 5 %, and 72 +/- 6 % of controls (p < 0.05), respectively, and these decreases were significantly improved by CE treatment. These results suggest that early CE administration to HFD-fed rats would prevent the development of insulin resistance at least in part by enhancing insulin signaling and possibly via the NO pathway in skeletal muscle.

Source: PMID: 15002064 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

A study was conducted by the University of Peshawar, Pakistan on 60 individuals (30 men and 30 women) with Type 2 Diabetes. All patients were over 40 years of age. They were all on anti-diabetic medication, not on insulin and consumed their normal diets throughout the study. The addition of 1,3 or 6 grams of cinnamon to the diet for 40 days caused blood sugar levels to decrease by 18 to 29%, triglycerides by 23-30% LDL cholesterol by 7-27% and total cholesterol by 12-26%. There were no problems with taking the cinnamon supplement.

Conclusions

Cinnamon decreases glucose levels with type 2 diabetics.
Cinnamon decreases risk factors for heart- and vascular diseases: total cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol, triglycerides.
Cinnamon decreases the risk for diabetic complications.
Cinnamon is a valuable supplement to the daily diet of a diabetic.

What is the effect based on?

Increased sensitivity of insulin receptors in muscle cells (because of phosphorylation of receptor).
Increased absorption of glucose by fat cells.
Increased transformation of glucose to glycogen (spare sugar).
Inhibition (obstruction) of hepatic HMG-CoA reductase, enzyme which induces the formation of blood fats as cholesterol.