Herbal Ashwagandha Protects the Beta Cells of Pancreas Against the Onset of Diabetes in Vivo

By Kyle J. Norton

Diabetes is a chronic condition caused by insufficient insulin entering the bloodstream. Insulin resistance and hyperglycemia are hallmarks of diabetes.

In other words, insulin produced by the pancreas is either blocked by the clogging-up of the insulin receptors by fat and cholesterol or the death of beta cells in the pancreas. In some cases, diabetes can also be associated with autoimmune disease, attacking the beta cells.

There are some major types of diabetes, including the best known, type 1 and 2.
* Type 1 diabetes is associated with a genetic proposition that leads to the immune system to attack insulin-producing cells of the pancreas.

* Type 2 diabetes (acquired diabetes), is a condition caused by either the pancreas doesn't produce enough insulin, or the insulin does not work properly due to dysfunction of the insulin receptors.

In pregnancy, gestational diabetes is a type of diabetes occurred during the second or third trimester of pregnancy. Gestation diabetes goes away after giving birth.

However, omen with gestation diabetes is associated with a substantial risk of diabetic developing sometimes in the future.

Epidemiologically, obesity, an unhealthy lifestyle with physical inactivity are some of the most common risk factor associated with the slow onset of diabetes.

Interestingly, some researchers suggested, night shifts workers accompanied by unhealthy lifestyles are linking to a high risk of type 2 diabetes.

" risk of type 2 diabetes is actually higher than simply adding the individual risks associated with unhealthy lifestyle and shift work together, indicating that combining an unhealthy lifestyle with irregular night-time working adds a further risk".

"It is well-established that unhealthy lifestyle behaviors such as smoking, a poor diet, and little exercise, and being overweight or obese increase the risk of type 2 diabetes. Shift work, especially night shift work, has also been associated with a greater risk of type 2 diabetes".

Ashwagandha also is known as Withania somnifera is a nightshade plant in the genus of Withania, belonging to the family Solanaceae, native to the dry parts of India, North Africa, Middle East, and the Mediterranean.
The herbal medicine has been considered as Indian ginseng and used in Ayurvedic medicine over 3000 years to treat tumors and tubercular glands, carbuncles, memory loss, and ulcers and considered as anti-stress, cognition-facilitating, anti-inflammatory, and anti-aging herbal medicine.

With an aim to find a potent compound for the treatment of diabetes, researchers examined the effects of Withania somnifera (WS) on lipid peroxidation (LPO) and pancreas in type 2 diabetic rats.

The study included type 2 diabetes induced by a single intraperitoneal injection of STZ (100 mg/kg) to 2 days old rat pups pretreated by WS.

According to the tested analysis, untreated rats group showed significant levels of lipid peroxidation (LPO) observed by reducing levels of antioxidant enzymes produced by the host including glutathione (GSH) contents and by enzymatic activities of glutathione peroxidase (GPx), glutathione reductase (GR), glutathione-S-transferase (GST), superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT).

However, injection of WS not only caused a significant decrease in blood glucose and tissue LPO levels casued by the application of STZ but also a significant increase in GSH contents, compared to type 2 diabetic control rats.

Furthermore, antioxidant enzymes reduced in the untreated rat such as GPx, GR, GST, SOD, and CAT were also increased compared to type 2 diabetic control rats.

Most importantly, the significant reduction in the number and size of pancreatic beta-cells in STZ rats was normalized upon the administration of WS, evident from the histopathological examination.

In other words, WS protects the cells in the pancreas against oxidation and maintains the integrity of beta cells in insulin production in type 2 diabetes rats.

Based on the findings, researchers said, "WS has shown strong free radical scavenging activity and helped in improving the non-enzymatic and enzymatic antioxidants in type 2 diabetic rats".

Taken altogether, Ashwagandha WS may be considered a functional herb for the prevention and an adjunct therapy combined with the primary medicine for the treatment of type 2 diabetes, pending to the results of large example size and multicenter study.



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Author Biography
Kyle J. Norton (Scholar, Master of Nutrition, All right reserved)
Health article writer and researcher; Over 10.000 articles and research papers have been written and published online, including worldwide health, ezine articles, article base, health blogs, self-growth, best before it's news, the karate GB daily, etc.,.
Named TOP 50 MEDICAL ESSAYS FOR ARTISTS & AUTHORS TO READ by Disilgold.com Named 50 of the best health Tweeters Canada - Huffington Post
Nominated for shorty award over last 4 years
Some articles have been used as references in medical research, such as international journal Pharma and Bioscience, ISSN 0975-6299.

Sources
(1) Protective effect of Withania somnifera against oxidative stress and pancreatic beta-cell damage in type 2 diabetic rats by Anwer T1, Sharma M, Pillai KK, Khan G. (PubMed)
(2) Oral supplementation of standardized extract of Withania somnifera protects against diabetes-induced testicular oxidative impairments in prepubertal rats by Kyathanahalli CN1, Manjunath MJ, Muralidhara. (PubMed)
(3) Night shifts and an unhealthy lifestyle linked to high risk of type 2 diabetes by BMJ