The French government has funded a research that showed great results. Researchers discovered a new compound in tomatoes skin that can turn be a new way to fight diabetes.
The research revealed the presence of lycopene in tomatoes. This substance gives tomatoes their red colour and helps fight the inflammatory process that causes diabetes.
On the basis of this research, researchers will initiate a project to make a pill from the compound. This $568,000 project is expected to produce a modified lycopene pill that can be used in human trials.
The Diabetes Research Team
Led by Dr Jean-Francois Landrier, who is the Director of the Cardiovascular and Nutritional Health Division of Marseille University at French National Health Research Institute, the research is seen as a remarkable development. He has shown that the lycopene diminishes the inflammatory process. This decelerates the development of resistance to insulin signalling.
Speaking about this, Landrier said that they knew inflammation in fat cells called adipocytes has a strong link to insulin resistance. On the basis of this, after they found that lycopene activates an anti-inflammatory effect on adipocytes, they tried to check whether it can affect the insulin resistance. And to their surprise, it did.
Overwhelmed by this discovery, Landrier said, “We were one of the first groups to show this effect, and it has now been backed up by a number of other studies.”
Development of Pills
The group is now working to identify which lycopene compound would be the most effective for the human body. Apart from being most effective, it is also to be absorbed easily by the body. For this, they are using a large-scale process of testing the compounds on the patients who are suffering from diabetes.
The most common type of diabetes, which is Type 2, develops as a result of an inflammatory reaction. This reaction occurs in the fatty tissue of overweight people. Due to this reaction, there is a breakdown in the mechanism of insulin signalling that is designed to prevent the toxic buildup of glucose in the blood, leading to fatal consequences.
Other Researchers on Diabetes
FutureYou, a UK based company has already developed ‘Atrenon’ which is a lycopene supplement. Dr Miriam Ferrer, the in-house scientist at FutureYou, said that this discovery is exciting. She further added, “From research with Cambridge and Harvard Universities, we are aware of the anti-inflammatory properties of our lycopene or ‘tomato pill’, as it is generally known, could be beneficial in treating diabetes which is one of the biggest drains on NHS resources.”
This research has been openly accepted by Diabetes UK, which is a charity that supports people suffering from this disease.
Though there is a lot of research to be done, we hope that the medicine comes into existence as soon as possible.
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