Curry leaves may help control diabetes, scientists say

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,3604,1315804,00.html

Lee Glendinning
Thursday September 30, 2004
The Guardian

Ancient herbal remedies used for centuries in Indian cooking and in
preparing dishes in the far east have the potential to control
diabetes and treat cancer, according to a team of London scientists.
Researchers from the department of pharmacy at King's College London
say they have found scientific justification for the use of
alternative medicine.

Scientists believe that the Indian curry leaf - an ingredient in many
curry dishes and used in traditional Indian healing, may contain
agents that slow down the rate of starch-to-glucose breakdown in
people with diabetes. The tree's leaves could control the amount of
glucose entering the bloodstream.

Professor Peter Houghton, who headed the research team of 20, told the
British Pharmaceutical Conference in Manchester yesterday that plants
used in traditional Thai and Chinese medicine appeared to have
cancer-fighting properties.

During the research six plants used in Thai cancer remedies were
extracted according to traditional methods and showed "promising
activity" against lung cancer cells.

The best results were found in the aquatic weed known as Ammannia
baccifera from Thailand and star anise, a plant extract which tastes
of licorice and is often used in Chinese cooking.

The findings also revealed that common cattle feed might contain
anti-fungal properties and could be used in a cream to treat athlete's
foot.

Prof Houghton said the findings from three years of research were the
first step in the discovery of new drugs based on plant extracts, but
warned against people with diabetes or cancer taking the plant
extracts immediately.

"This is the first time many of these plants have been looked at
scientifically, but it is a long way from saying they will be placed
on a doctor's prescription pad," he said. "Pharmacists believe herbs
are of value, but they are not completely safe. There is now a rapidly
diminishing number of doctors who believe they are old wives' tales,
and now see that herbal remedies must be treated with respect."

He said although it was quite possible that people who ate curry leaf
regularly as part of their diet could help control their diabetes,
sufferers should first consult their doctors.

"When people find a new chemical of interest, there is a one in 10,000
chance of it becoming a good medicine," he said.

"Obviously if someone is eating the curry leaf regularly and is known
to be diabetic there is no harm in carrying on taking it, but if
someone is going to start taking it in conjunction with other
medicines they should definitely check first."

Researchers also interviewed traditional healers in Ghana to identify
plants that are used to help wounds heal. The Ashanti, one of the
largest ethnic groups in Ghana used a plant known as the climbing
flower which was shown to have anti-bacterial and anti-fungal
qualities and prevented infections.

But Professor Edzard Ernst, who researches complementary medicine at
the Peninsula Medical School in Exeter, said it was important for
people to realise clinical trials had not yet been carried out on the
plant extracts.

"This research needs independent confirmation, and even if it all goes
like a flash of lightning, which it never does, we could see something
in five years," he said.

"I think it's very encouraging but I think any claims of a cancer cure
or a diabetes cure are misleading to patients."