Aloe-derived Polysaccharides Found Effective in Type 2 Diabetes

More exciting news from the National Center for Biotechnology Information, U.S. National Library of Medicine on the effectiveness of Aloe Vera Polysaccharides for Type 2 Diabetes.

As always, the Abstracts are not the easiest to understand but see the bottom line of the findings in italics below; and you can find the link to the entire report at the bottom of this article.

“Insulin resistance, a pathophysiology of type 2 diabetes, is associated with obesity. Lipotoxicity in obesity leads to the dysfunction and death of pancreatic β-cells and inadequate insulin production, thereby aggravating type 2 diabetes. The present study was conducted to determine the effect of Aloe vera polysaccharides (APs) as an anti-hyperglycemic agent and their mechanisms of action. Gel polysaccharides from Aloe extracts were separated using ultrafiltration devices with molecular weight-cutoff membranes, and the protective effect of APs on pancreatic β-cells in response to free fatty acids (FFAs) was determined. APs were effective in interfering with the FFA-induced activation of the PERK and IRE1 pathways as well as ROS generation, thereby protecting pancreatic β-cells from lipotoxicity. Although variation in the chain length of APs can influence the activity of FFA-mediated ER stress signaling in different ways, polysaccharide mixtures with molecular weights higher than 50 kDa showed greater antiapoptotic and antioxidant activity in β-cells.

“After oral administration of APs, markedly lowering fasting blood glucose levels were observed in db/db mice, providing evidence of the potential of APs as an alternative insulin sensitizer. Therefore, it was concluded that APs have a protective effect against type 2 diabetes by modulating obesity-induced ER stress in pancreatic β-cells.”