We knew that coffee has health benefits, but nothing like these newly discovered chemicals that can help to regulate blood glucose. There is a lot more research and clinical testing to do before we can recommend any of them as part of diabetes treatment. There is also a lot more research to be done using the same methods that let researchers find, identify, and characterize more such chemicals that might help with any number of dread diseases. Go, us!
I am rearranging my publishing schedule here starting next week. Diabetes News will appear on Mondays, and The Pushback Chronicles on Wednesdays. That will allow me to cover the pushback that Rachel Maddow reports on regularly.
🎩 scress
Yay, more coffee, please:
Newly discovered coffee compounds beat diabetes drug in lab tests
Roasted coffee may do more than wake you up—it could help control blood sugar. Researchers discovered several new coffee compounds that inhibit α-glucosidase, a key enzyme linked to type 2 diabetes. Some of these molecules were even more potent than a common anti-diabetic drug. The study also introduced a faster, greener way to uncover health-boosting compounds in complex foods.
Continuing,
Three newly identified compounds were found to strongly inhibit α-glucosidase, an enzyme that plays a central role in breaking down carbohydrates during digestion. Because this enzyme directly affects how quickly sugars enter the bloodstream, the discovery points to possible new functional food ingredients aimed at managing type 2 diabetes.
Researchers led by Minghua Qiu at the Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, reported their findings in Beverage Plant Research. Their work highlights previously unknown anti-diabetic activity in coffee and adds new insight into its role as a functional food.
The team designed a three-step, activity-focused process to uncover bioactive diterpene esters in roasted Coffea arabica beans. Their approach aimed to detect both common and extremely low-level compounds that could inhibit α-glucosidase, while also reducing solvent use and speeding up analysis.
After purification with semi-preparative HPLC, the scientists isolated three previously unknown diterpene esters, named caffaldehydes A, B, and C.
α-Glucosidase
Diabetes: Acarbose, an α-glucosidase inhibitor, competitively and reversibly inhibits α-glucosidase in the intestines. This inhibition lowers the rate of glucose absorption through delayed carbohydrate digestion and extended digestion time. Acarbose may be able to prevent the development of diabetic symptoms.[20] Hence, α-glucosidase inhibitors (like acarbose) are used as anti-diabetic drugs in combination with other anti-diabetic drugs. Luteolin has been found to be a strong inhibitor of α-glucosidase. The compound can inhibit the enzyme up to 36% with a concentration of 0.5 mg/ml.[21] As of 2016, this substance is being tested in rats, mice and cell culture. Flavonoid analogues have been demonstrated with inhibition activity.
