Medicinal plants and the treatment of diabetes in Senegal: survey with patients.

We
did a cross-sectional survey by direct interview at a university teaching hospital, in Dakar
with a representative sample of 220 patients. Forty-one plants were used by the patients
and the two most frequently cited were Moringa oleifera Lam (65.90%) and Sclerocarya
birrea (A. Rich) Hochst (43.20%). In conclusion, many people in our study think that
medicinal plants are efficient for the treatment of diabetes.

Diabetes and Moringa (Zija), why?

What is the evidence in adults or children with a) type II diabetes, or b) insulin resistance/the metabolic syndrome for an
effect of omega-3 fatty acids

Moringa helps control blood sugar levels in your body by reducing insulin resistance—a condition in which your
body’s cells don’t respond to a hormone (called insulin) that allows them to turn blood sugar into energy.
Turning food into energy
• When you eat, food is broken down into different products that can be used by your body.
• One of those products is glucose, or sugar, the main source of energy for the body.
• In order to process glucose into energy, the pancreas produces insulin—a hormone that allows cells to absorb
glucose (sugar).
• Insulin is produced by the pancreas and is needed to let sugar into the body’s cells so it can be processed into
energy.

Insulin resistance in type II diabetes

• For people with type II diabetes, the body cannot produce enough insulin to properly use the sugar in their blood.
In addition, their cells lose their sensitivity to insulin—a condition known as insulin resistance.
• Because some cells, such as muscle cells, are not sensitive to insulin, they cannot absorb blood sugar for the
energy they need to function.
• The body responds to this situation by signaling the pancreas to produce more insulin, causing insulin levels in
the blood to become too high. This condition is known as hyperinsulinemia. Unfortunately, even this extra
insulin does not allow insulin-resistant cells to absorb blood sugar.
• Eventually, the pancreas can no longer produce enough insulin to compensate for insulin resistance. The cells in
the liver also become insulin resistant and respond by making too much blood sugar.
• Because the cells do not absorb blood sugar, it stays in the blood stream, causing blood sugar levels to rise—a
condition known as hyperglycemia.
• Over time, high levels of sugar in the blood can result in damage to parts of the body, such as the kidneys, eyes,
nerves, and heart.

Reducing insulin resistance with Zija

Along with healthy eating and physical activity, Zija works by reducing insulin resistance, which helps reduce the
harmful buildup of sugar in the blood.
○ Zija increases the sensitivity of cells to insulin. When the cells in the body are more sensitive to insulin:
 They can absorb blood sugar for the energy they need to function properly.
 The amount of sugar in the blood goes down, because the sugar is absorbed by the cells rather
than remaining in the blood.
 Allow the pancreas to rest by reducing the pancreatic enzyme out-put.
Effects of Oral Administration of Moringa oleifera Lam on Glucose Tolerance in
Goto-Kakizaki and Wistar Rats. Ndong M, Uehara M, Katsumata S, Suzuki K.
Department of Nutritional Science, Faculty of Applied Bioscience, Tokyo University of Agriculture, 1-1-1 Sakuragaoka,
Setagaya-ku, Tokyo 156-8502, Japan.
Medicinal plants constitute an important source of potential therapeutic agents for diabetes. In the present study, we
investigated the effects of Moringa oleifera (MO) Lam, Moringacea, on glucose tolerance in Wistar rats and Goto-
Kakizaki (GK) rats, modeled type 2 diabetes. Major polyphenols in MO powder were quercetin glucosides, rutin,
kaempferol glycosides and chlorogenic acids by HPLC analysis. As the results of glucose tolerance test, MO
significantly decreased the blood glucose at 20, 30, 45and 60 min for GK rats and at 10, 30 and 45 min for Wistar
rats (p<0.05) compared to the both controls after glucose administration. The area under the curve of changes in the
blood glucose was significantly higher in the GK control group than in the GK plus MO group (p<0.05) in the periods
30-60 min and 60-120 min. Furthermore, MO significantly decreased stomach emptying in GK rats (p<0.05). The results
indicated that MO has an ameliorating effect for glucose intolerance, and the effect might be mediated by quercetin-3-
glucoside and fiber contents in MO leaf powder. The action of MO was greater in GK rats than in Wistar rats.
Comparative evaluation of hypoglycaemic activity of some Indian medicinal plants in
alloxan diabetic rats. Kar A, Choudhary BK, Bandyopadhyay NG.
Satsang Herbal Research and Analytical Laboratories, PO Satsang-814 116 Deoghar, India.
pratip_neogy@hotmail.com
In our experiments 30 hypoglycaemic medicinal plants (known and less known) have been selected for thorough studies
from indigenous folk medicines, Ayurvedic, Unani and Siddha systems of medicines. In all the experiments with
different herbal samples (vacuum dried 95% ethanolic extracts), definite blood glucose lowering effect within 2 weeks
have been confirmed in alloxan diabetic albino rats. Blood glucose values are brought down close to normal
fasting level using herbal samples at a dose of 250 mg/kg once, twice or thrice daily, as needed. While evaluating
comparative hypoglycaemic activity of the experimental herbal samples, significant blood glucose lowering activities are
observed in decreasing order in the following 24 samples-Coccinia indica, Tragia involucrata, G. sylvestre, Pterocarpus
marsupium, T. foenum-graecum, Moringa oleifera, Eugenia jambolana, Tinospora cordifolia, Swertia chirayita,
Momordica charantia, Ficus glomerata, Ficus benghalensis, Vinca rosea, Premna integrifolia, Mucuna prurita,
Terminalia bellirica, Sesbenia aegyptiaca, Azadirachta indica, Dendrocalamus hamiltonii, Zingiber officinale, Aegle
marmelos, Cinnamomum tamala, Trichosanthes cucumerina and Ocimum sanctum. Present studies besides confirming
hypoglycaemic activities of the experimental herbal samples, help identify more potent indigenous hypoglycaemic herbs
(in crude ethanolic extract) from the comparative study of the reported experimental results. Copyright 2002 Published
by Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd.
Recently, novel derivatives of thiocarbamates and nitrites which stimulate insulin release in animals have been found in
Moringa. These compounds and their action explain the anti-diabetic properties of the Miracle Tree. The list with
valuable, recent medicinal discoveries related to Moringa goes on and on. One would need hundreds of pages to mention
all the discoveries and describe their content.

Mark Mandela
Clinical Nutritionist
703-725-9989
www.myzija.com/Zmiracles