Research has consistency shown the positive effects of coffee consumption on type 2 diabetes. From lower mortality rate and fat loss to synthetic gene triggering for treatment and lowering the disease risk for slow metabolizers as well an overall decrease in the risk of developing it, coffee is like a wonder drug for type 2 diabetes. And scientists have now discovered three anti-diabetic compounds in roasted coffee, that could be more effective than traditional diabetes medication.
As reported by SciTechDaily, the study was published in the journal Beverage Plant Research by a team at the Chinese Academy of Sciences’ Kunming Institute of Botany. For it, researchers broke down an extract from roasted Arabica coffee into 190 smaller fractions using silica gel chromatrography, “a common technique that separates compounds based on how they move through a solid material.” Each fraction was then tested to determine how well it blocked activity of a-glucosidase, an enzyme that breaks down carbohydrates during digestion. Blocking a-glucosidase helps control blood sugar spikes after eating and thus helps manage type 2 diabetes.
Using a cluster heatmap of the data, the researchers were able to pinpoint three most biologically active fractions, which led to the discovery of “three previously unknown diterpene esters named caffaldehydes A, B, and C.” Each of the three esters was shown to be more effective at inhibiting a-glucosidase activity than acarbose, “a clinically prescribed antidiabetic drug commonly used to manage type 2 diabetes.”
Beyond bolstering coffee consumption’s positive effects on those with type 2 diabetes, the findings offer the hope of developing “new functional food ingredients or nutraceuticals derived from coffee” to help aid in regulating and treating diabetes.
Either way, it’s more good news for coffee’s healthful impact on the body.
Zac Cadwalader is the managing editor at Sprudge Media Network and a staff writer based in Dallas. Read more Zac Cadwalader on Sprudge.
