July 29, 2010 – Cashew nut extract is believed to have promising properties for treating diabetes. It would stimulate the absorption of blood sugar, according to a preliminary test carried out by Quebec and Cameroonian researchers1.
The researchers wanted to validate the use of cashew (cashew) products in traditional medicine to treat various diseases, including diabetes. They analyzed the anti-diabetic effects of the bark, leaves, nuts and fruits of the cashew tree in muscle cells cultured in the laboratory, i.e. at the stage in vitro.
Results: Only cashew nut extract demonstrated significant effects in stimulating the absorption of blood sugar by muscle cells. Its activity is even similar to that of metformin, which is a glucophage that is already used in the treatment of diabetes.
“Although very preliminary, the impact of the results of our study strongly encourages the study of compounds from the cashew tree and cashew nut extract to develop new oral treatments”, notes Pierre S. Haddad2, one of the authors of the study.
Even though other cashew products did not have significant effects in cultured muscle cells, he believes that further study is needed in other organs including the pancreas, fat and liver. .
“You have to trust traditional medicine, because people wouldn’t have chosen the leaf or the bark if it didn’t have a beneficial effect. It is possible that these parts did not have effects on muscle cells in the laboratory, but they may have effects elsewhere on other organs, ”said the researcher, who is also a full professor in the Department of Pharmacology. at the University of Montreal.
Pierre S. Haddad warns people who might believe that they will have the same anti-diabetic effect if they consume whole cashews. The cashew nut extract no longer contains proteins, fats and sugars and therefore becomes less caloric than a whole cashew nut, he explains.
Carole Boulé – PasseportSanté.net
1. Tedong L, Madiraju P et al. Hydro-ethanolic extract of cashew tree (Anacardium ouest) nut and its principal compound, anacardic acid, stimulate glucose uptake in C2C12 muscle cells, Mol Nutr Food Res. 2010 Jul 5.
2. Pierre S. Haddad is Director of the CIHR Indigenous Medicines for Diabetes Research Team.
