A group of researchers at Curtin University has found that lupin seed extract can effectively prevent diabetes. The study proves that the extract is more potent than some pharmaceutical drugs in tackling diabetes. It can regulate the blood sugar levels by stimulating the insulin secretion in cells.
Diabetes mellitus is a condition in which the pancreas no longer produces enough insulin or cells stop responding to the insulin that is produced so that glucose in the blood could not be absorbed into the body's cells.
The leader of the research team Professor Newsholme said lupin extract can be put into a drink or yoghurt-based product which would be taken just before a meal. This would lower the peak blood glucose levels which occur after a normal meal.
"For every person who is non-diabetic, our normal hormone secretion will keep this peak to quite a lower level but as we move towards the risk of diabetes, the peak gets higher and then returns back to normal but gets slower and slower," he said.
