The Advantages of

Herbal Alternatives to
Conventional Drugs for
Treating Diabetes
Heba El-Ahmad
February 23, 2015
Independant Research- Period 3

Overview:

Research I have done this year

Synthesis Paper

Project

Future Plans

Steps I took

30 Annotated sources all about herbal

alternatives

Researched further and focused my topic on

diabetes and herbal alternatives to commonly
used drugs

Wrote synthesis paper

Synthesis Paper
Within my synthesis paper I discussed
o What diabetes is and how it works.
o What drugs are commonly used to treat diabetes (and their
downfalls).
o What herbs could be used to replace commonly used drugs. I
focused on...

Bitter Melon

Fenugreek

Gymnema Leaves

Synthesis Paper
My paper argued that taking alternative medicines
to treat diabetes could be more beneficial than
taking traditional drugs.

What is Diabetes?
Type-one diabetes occurs when the body completely stops
producing insulin.
o

The affected person must take insulin injections to survive.

Type-two diabetes results from the bodys inability to

produce sufficient insulin. This occurs because of the bodies
developing insulin resistance (impaired insulin sensitivity).

Common Drugs
Avandia, or Rosiglitazone: Increase insulin sensitivity in muscles and fat; reduce
glucose production in the liver
o Found to be associated with an increase in myocardial infarction and death
from cardiovascular disease
o Avandia users had a 30% higher risk of heart attack or blocked coronary
artery
Sulfonylureas: Stimulate beta cells in the pancreas to release more insulin
o Those who were treated with sulfonylureas were found to be at a higher risk
of mortality and adverse cardiovascular outcomes
o High dosages may cause hypoglycemia (blood sugar too low)
DPP- 4 inhibitors: improve blood glucose levels without causing hypoglycemia
o Broken down quickly by the body and ineffective when injected

Common Drugs
Sodium- glucose transporter 2 inhibitors: Blocks glucose absorption in kidneys;
allows glucose to leave the body in urine
o Side effects can include urinary tract and yeast infections
Alpha- glucosidase inhibitors- Blocks the breakdown of starches in the intestine
so glucose is not released
o Causes gas and diarrhea
Bile Acid Sequestrants- Lowers cholesterol which then reduces blood glucose
levels
o Causes flatulence and constipation
Many studies exposing dangers of possible drugs for diabetes have brought a lack of
knowledge concerning the drugs to public attention

Herbal Alternatives

Bitter Melon:

Anti- diabetic abilities.

Hyperglycemic and glucose tolerance improvement in rats.

Enhance insulin sensitivity and lipolysis (the breakdown of fats by hydrolysis).

Effects are compared to that of sulfonylureas.

Years of consumption of bitter melon as a dietary supplement also suggest a

high level of safety.
Fenugreek:

Reduce fasting blood sugar levels and improve glucose tolerance in type-one
diabetic patients

Rich in fiber- several studies have suggested that subjects become more
sensitive to insulin after adaptation to a high fiber diet.

Hypoglycemic properties.

Increased bile acids and neutral sterols in the feces, depleting cholesterol
stores in the body.
Gymnema:

Reduction in blood glucose, glycosylated hemoglobin (proteins that transport

glucose in the blood) and glycosylated plasma proteins, giving the opportunity
for conventional drug dosage to be decreased.

My Project
I then proposed the problem and solution and
entered my essay into the DuPont Essay
Challenge.

Future Plans
I want to take some time to plan a lab about
alternative/ integrative medicine.
I hope to carry out the lab with a few of the biology
classes here at Centennial.