Beta-Sitosterol Inhibits the Onset of Insulin Resistance In Vivo

By Kyle J. Norton

Diabetes is a chronic condition caused by insufficient insulin entering the bloodstream to regulate glucose.

In other words, diabetes occurs when cells in the pancreas die off or receptor sites are clogged up by fat and cholesterol. In some cases, diabetes is also caused by allergic reactions of cells in the immune system.

Insulin resistance is a condition in which cells that convert glucose to energy in the muscles, body fat, intestine, and liver ignore the signal of the hormone insulin signaling.

In other words, patients with insulin resistance are hyperglycemic. The syndrome is a hallmark of type 2 diabetes.

Other hallmarks of diabetes are hyperglycemia, a medical condition of abnormally high blood glucose, which is a major concern, in people with both type 1 and type 2 diabetes.

Epidemiologically, people with insulin resistance are associated with an increased risk of prediabetes, type 2 diabetes, and chronic conditions such as heart attacks, strokes, and cancer.

Most cases of insulin resistance in the Western world are involved in the clogged-up insulin receptors.
As the signals of the hormone insulin are blocked, insulin resistance develops, leading to more production of insulin by the body.

Over time insulin resistance leads to damage to the beta cell in the pancreas, an early condition of prediabetes and types 2 diabetes.

According to statistics, over 100 million Americans are living with insulin resistance. Approximately 1 in 3, including half of those age 60 and older have a silent blood sugar problem known as insulin resistance.

There are no single causes of insulin resistance, Epidemiologically, aging, ethnicity, overweight or obesity, too much belly fat, physical inactivity, smoking, and certain medical conditions such as Cushing’s disease or polycystic ovary disease are some of the prevalent factors that induce the risk of the condition.

However, most people with some of the aforementioned risk factors have never developed insulin resistance.

Beta-Sitosterol is a phytochemical in the class of Phytosterols, belongings to the group of Lipids, found abundantly in avocados, rice bran, wheat germ, corn oils, fennel, peanuts, soybeans, hawthorn, basil, buckwheat. etc.

On finding a potential phytochemical for the prevention and treatment of diabetes, researchers investigated the anti-diabetic activity of β-sitosterol (BSS) isolated from Acacia nilotica (L.) Delile on diabetic complications.

According to the results from of experiment with ANL orally administrated (50 and 200mg/kg) to alloxanized mice (blood glucose > 200mg/dL) for 20days,

* ANL lowered (65%, P< 0.001) systemic glucose load in diabetic mice, which was otherwise 398% higher than control.

* ANL lowered (35%) insulin resistance, without any significant effect on insulin sensitivity (P> 0.05).

* Anti-hyperglycemic properties of ANL were further supported by lowering of HbA1c (34%; P< 0.001) and improved glucose utilization (OGTT).

* Hepatic (ALT, AST) and renal (creatinine, BUN) injury markers associated with the onset of diabetic complications were also lowered by the administration of ANL.

* ANL also exerted a normalization of dyslipidemia.

* The levels of oxidative stress markers MDA in the liver, kidney, and skeletal muscle were lowered through the herbal medicine antioxidant activity.

The efficacy of ANL in inhibiting insulin resistance was attributed mostly to the parts of high phenolic and flavonoid content, tocopherol, catechol, and β-sitosterol that enhance the levels of antioxidant defense protein Nrf2.

Taken altogether, beta-Sitosterol may be considered a supplement for the prevention and treatment of insulin resistance, pending the confirmation of the larger sample size and multicenter human study.

Intake of beta-Sitosterol in the form of supplements should be taken with extreme care to prevent overdose acute liver toxicity.


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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) Acacia nilotica leaf improves insulin resistance and hyperglycemia associated acute hepatic injury and nephrotoxicity by improving systemic antioxidant status in diabetic mice by Saha MR1, Dey P2, Sarkar I3, De Sarker D4, Haldar B5, Chaudhuri TK6, Sen A. (PubMed)