Does chromium and bitter melon activate insulin signaling?
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1
University of Alabama, United States
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2
Poznan University of Life Sciences, Poland
Diabetes is a global problem. Insulin resistance is the major symptom in diagnosing type 2 diabetes. The ability of insulin to mediate tissue glucose uptake is a critical step in maintaining glucose homeostasis and in clearing the postprandial glucose load. However, few available therapeutic strategies effectively correct insulin resistance with normalization of glucose tolerance.
Several decades ago, chromium (Cr), as its trivalent ion, was shown to enhance glucose uptake. Since then, Cr has been used as a micronutrient in multivitamin formulations, parenteral nutrition, food and energy drinks. However, the mechanism by which Cr works remains unclear.
Alternatively, bitter melon (BM) has been used in Asia and some parts of Africa as a prophylactic against diabetes. Although research has shown that bitter melon may reduce the effects of diabetes, the exact mechanism is not known. Preliminary research seems to indicate that both Cr and BM are interacting with a protein or enzyme in the insulin signaling pathway. This project looks specifically at the effects of Cr and BM on the insulin receptor substrate-1 and Akt. This research project is focused on determining the effects of chromium and bitter melon in insulin resistant and type II diabetic rats.
Acknowledgements
We would like to thank the Poland Fulbright Commission, Poznan University of Life Sciences, and the University of Alabama for contributions to this project.
Keywords:
Chromium III,
bitter melon (BM, Momordica charantia L),
type 2 diabetes,
high fat diet,
Insulin signal pathway,
Akt (PKB,
IRS 1
Conference:
National Organization for the Professional Advancement of Black Chemists and Chemical Engineers (NOBCChE) 45th Annual Conference , Orlando, Florida, United States, 17 Sep - 20 Sep, 2018.
Presentation Type:
Oral Presentation
Topic:
Biochemistry
Citation:
White
P,
Krol
E,
Scott
L,
Kim
H,
Krejpcio
Z and
Vincent
J
(2019). Does chromium and bitter melon activate insulin signaling?.
Front. Chem.
Conference Abstract:
National Organization for the Professional Advancement of Black Chemists and Chemical Engineers (NOBCChE) 45th Annual Conference .
doi: 10.3389/conf.fchem.2018.01.00017
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Received:
13 Oct 2018;
Published Online:
17 Jan 2019.
*
Correspondence:
Dr. John Vincent, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, United States, jvincent@ua.edu