Harbin Medical University recently announced the effectiveness of several kinds of plant extract in lowering blood sugar and improving insulin resistance, after tracking 15,000 patients in early diabetics over an 11-year period.

The newly-found plant extracts good for diabetics includes highland barley, mangiferin, curcumin and ursolic acid.

Currently, about one of 10 people in mainland China are living with diabetes, and the number of people suffering from type-2 diabetes accounts for over 90 percent of all diabetic patients, according to statistics from the Ministry of Health.

“Nutrition intervention is the most effective and economical method to prevent and control type-2 diabetes,” said Li Ying, deputy director of the Nutrition and Food Science School at Harbin Medical University.

In 2006, Li organized a team of post-graduate students to undertake the research using nutrition intervention method to treat diabetic patients.

By tracking the heath conditions of 15,000 patients after taking plant extract, they found that highland barley, mangiferin, curcumin and ursolic acid are of significant importance in lowering blood sugar, thereby laying a foundation for precision treatment.

Due to the breakthroughs made in diabetes, the team was awarded the first prize of the Heilongjiang Provincial Science and Technology Awards.

A group photo of the scientific research team led by Li Ying.[Photo/MY399.COM]

Li Ying, deputy director of the Nutrition and Food Science School at Harbin Medical University, conducts experiments.[Photo/MY399.COM]