The PANAFRICAN Review
The first research article we shall look at is published in Biomedical Central ’ s Complementary and Alternative Medicine Journal . In the study , researchers administered extracts from the leaves of the African bitterleaf on diabetic rats for a period of 7 – 14 days . Afterwards , studies were conducted on select indicators of diabetes , while the body weight and blood glucose were monitored . The results indicated that bitterleaf achieves anti-diabetic action by suppressing the production of new glucose in the liver .
The second research article is published in the Journal of Food Chemistry . The researchers focused on studying the anti-diabetic properties of the leaves of Vernonia amygdalina . Extracts from the leaves of bitterleaf were
administered on diabetic rats for a period of 14 days , and it was established that there are anti-diabetic components in V . amygdalina , thereby establishing its age-old use in African traditional medicine .
The third article we shall examine was published in the Metabolic Brain Disorder Journal . The researchers investigated the ability of African bitterleaf to stimulate the brain glucose uptake in rats . This research is necessary because , in Type 2 diabetes sufferers , glucose uptake is usually reduced , leading to such diseases as Alzheimer ' s . Researchers used a hot infusion ( tea ) of Vernonia amygdalina leaves in this research . Rat brain tissues were incubated for 2 hours in the hot infusion of Vernonia amygdalina leaves , with glucose being present . Another set of rat brain tissues were incubated in glucose only ( i . e ., without bitterleaf extracts ). The results indicate the “ brain glucose uptake stimulatory and neuroprotective effect of V . amygdalina ,” essentially lending credence to the age-old use of bitterleaf as a diabetes prevention and treatment option in traditional African pharmacology .
The last article we shall look at is published in the Journal of Diabetes Research . In the study , researchers examined the potency of old and young leaf extracts of Vernonia amygdalina in the treatment of diabetes in rats . In the study , which lasted 4 weeks , 56 diabetic rats were divided into nine groups as follows :
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