Strawberries May Treat Type 1 Diabetes

LA JOLLA, Calif.Fisetin, a naturally-occurring flavonoid found most abundantly in strawberries and to a lesser extent in other fruits and vegetables, lessens complications of type 1 diabetes, according to a new study published in the journal PLoS ONE. The findings may lead to the development of a single drug that can be used to mitigate diabetes complications.

Researchers from the Salk Institute for Biological Studies evaluated effects of fisetin supplementation in Akita mice, which exhibit increased blood sugar typical of type 1 diabetes and display pathologies seen in serious human complications of type 1 and 2 diabetes. Those include diabetic nephropathy or kidney disease, retinopathy, and neuropathies in which patients lose touch or heat sensations.

Mice fed a fisetin-enriched diet remained diabetic, but acute kidney enlargementor hypertrophyseen in untreated mice was reversed, and high urine protein levels fell. Fisetin ingestion improved anxiety-related behaviors seen in diabetic mice.

Researchers also observed that blood and brain levels of sugars affixed to proteins known as advanced glycation end-productor AGEswere reduced in fisetin-treated compared to untreated Akita mice. The decreases were accompanied by increased activity of the enzyme glyoxalase 1, which promotes removal of toxic AGE precursors.

Excessively high AGE levels also correlate with inflammatory activity thought to promote some cancers. Previously published studies confirm fisetin decreases tumorigenicity of prostate cancer cells both in culture and in animal models.