NEW DELHI (PTI): Constant intake of Garlic can reduce blood glucose levels, according to researchers whose studies on laboratory animals suggest that Garlic has an anti-diabetic effect. Biochemists at the University of Kerala have attributed the anti-diabetic effect of Garlic to the presence of a sulphur-containing amino acid s-alkyl cysteine sulphoxide (SACS). This chemical is believed to either increase the secretion of insulin by the pancreas or enhance the transport of blood glucose to the peripheral tissues. Researchers C.G. Sheela and K. T. August isolated the Amino acid “SACS ‘from locally available garlic. This was then fed to experimental Tats, After one month of continuous SACS intake, the concentration of serum lipids, blood glucose, activities of various enzymes and liver glucose decreased considerably.
Meanwhile the results establish strong anti-diabetic and the already proved hypoglycemic effect of sacs, the scientists said reporting their findings in the “Indian Journal of Experimental Biology.”
Sacs reduce the body lipids by decreasing their synthesis and increasing their excretion through the intestinal tract.
Sacs has been shown to have a potent antihypercholestrolemic effect which considerably lowers down the blood cholesterol levels in the body and extra cholesterol synthesis in the liver.
Article extracted from this publication >> June 10, 1994
