苦瓜的抗糖尿病作用
10-APR-2008Bitter Melon Has Potent Anti-diabetes Effects
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Substances isolated from bitter melon, a plant eaten and used medicinally in much of Asia, could provide the basis of new drugs for treating diabetes and obesity, an international team of researchers reports.
纽约路透健康，国际性小组的研究人员报道，苦瓜是一种食用植物，在亚洲多用作药物，用苦瓜分离出来的物质，能够提供治疗糖尿病和肥胖新药的主要成分
Also known as balsam pear, the vegetable has been shown to reduce blood sugar in animal and human studies, Dr. Mon-Jia Tan of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Shanghai and colleagues note in the journal Chemistry & Biology.
上海中国科学院 Mon-Jia Tan 医师及其同事在《化学及生物学杂志〉指出，在动物和人类的研究中，已经表明，人们熟知的一种蔬菜，苦瓜，能降低血糖
Alternatives are needed to existing drugs for diabetes, they add, due to their side effects and limited action.
他们又提出，由于一些副作用和使用方面的限制，需要对现有的糖尿病药物进行选择。
In the current study, Tan and colleagues isolated and described several compounds from bitter melon known as cucurbitane triterpenoids, and tested their effects on glucose (sugar) and fat metabolism in cells and in mice.
最近的研究，Tan及其同事，从苦瓜中分离出了葫芦三萜系化合物，并在细胞和老鼠身上测试他们对葡萄糖和脂肪代谢的作用。
When tested in muscle and fat cells, the researchers found, the compounds stimulated the glucose receptor GLUT4 to move from the cell interior to the cell surface, thus promoting more effective glucose metabolism. Several of the tested compounds had effects comparable to those of insulin.
研究人员发现，当测试肌肉和脂肪细胞时，这种化合物刺激葡萄糖感受器GLUT4由细胞内不移至细胞表面，从而更有效的促进葡萄糖代谢。一些测试的化合物对胰岛素也有相同的作用
Tests in mice of two of the compounds found that they promoted both glucose tolerance and fat burning, and one was particularly effective in promoting glucose tolerance in animals consuming high fat diets.
用两种化合物对老鼠的试验发现，他们都能促进葡萄糖耐量和脂肪燃烧，其中一种，提高进食高脂肪饮食的动物的葡萄糖耐量特别有效
The researchers note that there may be as many as 70 active compounds in bitter melon. \"The present study provides an important basis for further analysis of structure-activity relationship to develop optimized leads from (bitter melon) for the treatment of insulin resistance and obesity,\" they conclude.
研究人员指出，苦瓜中可能有多达70种活性化合物。他们总结“当前的研究 ，以苦瓜为龙头，治疗胰岛素抵抗和肥胖，进一步分析结构活性关系，提供一个重要的基础“
SOURCE: Chemistry & Biology, March 2008.
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