Dave's note: they need to dig a little deeper.....
By Salynn Boyles
WebMD Medical News
May 24, 2002 -- An extract from the ginseng berry may one day help diabetics
with their two greatest challenges: blood sugar control and weight control.
"Since this berry contains agents that are effective against both obesity
and diabetes, the ginseng fruit has enormous promise as a source of new
drugs," says study director Chun-Su Yuan, MD, PhD, of the University of
Chicago's Tang Center for Herbal Medicine Research, in a news release.
For years, doctors have been looking for newer and better treatments for
obesity and diabetes. Often, the two conditions occur together. Diabetes is
the seventh leading cause of death in the U.S. Type 2 diabetes,
characterized by an inability to use the hormone insulin effectively (a
phenomenon called insulin resistance), is the most common form, affecting
nearly 6% of the population. And those numbers are rising, possibly due to
rising obesity in the U.S.
In recent years, scientists have identified a substance in the popular
supplement made from ginseng root that can help stabilize blood sugar levels
in diabetics. Now, doctors have found that an extract from the berry of the
ginseng plant is even more potent -- at least in animals.
The study is published in the June issue of Diabetes, a journal from the
American Diabetes Association.