Artemisia, dietary fibers and diabetes

Kansango C, Gisenya P, Lutgen P. 28 Dec 2021 The exhaustive analysis of Artemisia annua plants by J.F. Ferreira in 2009 has shown a result which is often neglected : stems contain 20x more starch than leaves. Leaves and inflorescences had the highest percentage of protein, crude fat and in vitro digestible fractions, but the lowest levels of detergent fibres. E Brisibe, Umoren E. Umoren, F Brisibe, P Magalhäes, J. Ferreira, Nutritional characterisation and antioxidant capacity of different tissues of Artemisia annua. Food Chemistry. Volume 115, Issue 4, 2009, 1240-1246, doi.org/10.1016/j.foodchem.2009.01.033. A study from Korea also found that the polysaccharide content is higher in stems than in leaves for a local Artemisia plant. Byung Yong Ahn and Mun Yhung Jung. Antioxidative and Protective Activi ty of Polysaccharide Extract fromArtemisia iwayomogi Kitamura Stems on UVB-Damaged Mouse Epidermis J. Appl. Biol. Chem. 54(3), 184-189 (2011) It is difficult to find a good explanation on the difference between detergent, physically inaccessible, non-digestible and resistant starch. But it is easy to find many papers which describe the high concentrations of starch in the stems of plants, for example weath (Triticum aestivum). Graham N. Scofield, Sari A. Ruuska, Naohiro Aoki, David C. Lewis, Linda M. Tabe, Colin L. D. Jenkins, Starch storage in the stems of wheat plants: localization and temporal changes, Annals of Botany, Volume 103, Issue 6, April 2009, Pages 859–868, https://doi.org/10.1093/aob/mcp010 Grasses make up the vast majority of agricultural commodities. How these grasses capture, transport, and store carbohydrates underpins many aspects of crop productivity. Sink–source dynamics within the plant direct how much, where, and when carbohydrates are allocated, as well as determine the harvestable tissue. Grasses have the ability to buffer this sink–source interaction by transiently storing carbohydrates in stem tissue when production from the source is greater than whole-plant demand. Domesticated grasses such as sugarcane and sweet sorghum have undergone selection for high accumulation of stem carbohydrates. Thomas L. Slewinski, Non-structural carbohydrate partitioning in grass stems: a target to increase yield stability, stress tolerance, and biofuel production, Journal of Experimental Botany, Volume 63, 13, 2012, 4647–4670, https://doi.org/10.1093/jxb/ers124 It is well established that part of starch is resistant to human amylases and escapes undigested to large bowel. This fraction of starch is resistant starch. Dietary fibers, polysaccharides and resistant starch have a beneficial effect on digestion and contribute to bowel health. Inulin is a good example of a non-digestible polysaccharide. These are often called prebiotics. Šubarić, Drago, Ačkar, D urđica; Babić, Jurislav; Miličević, Borislav. Starch for health. Medicinski Glasnik . Feb2012, Vol. 9 Issue 1, p17-22. 6p. The worldwide increase in diabetes is probably related to lifestyle changes. In developed countries the intake of resistant starch is low (3 to 6 g/day in the EU, 3 to 8 g/day in the USA) compared to 30 to 40 gr/day in developing countries. Type 2 diabetes mellitus, a common metabolic and endocrine disorder worldwide, causes severe health and economic problems. At present, pharmacotherapy involving synthetic diabetic agents is clinically administered for diabetic therapy, which has certain side effects. Fortunately, various natural polysaccharides (commonly called fibers) have anti-diabetic activity and use of these polysaccharides as adjuncts to conventional therapies is increasing in developing countries. A literature search was conducted by a Chinese team to obtain relevant information of anti-diabetic polysaccharides from electronic databases. In total, 114 types of polysaccharides from 78 kinds of natural sources, namely plants, fungi, algae, animals, and bacteria, have shown anti-diabetic properties. In vivo and in vitro experiments have shown that administering these polysaccharides has hypoglycaemic effects and alleviates β-cell dysfunction in addition to eliciting other anti-diabetic activities which are equally efficient and even more efficient than those of synthetic diabetic agents. Wu J, Shi S, Wang H, Wang S. Mechanisms underlying the effect of polysaccharides in the treatment of type 2 diabetes: A review. Carbohydr Polym. 2016 Jun 25;144:474-94. doi: 10.1016/j.carbpol.2016.02.040. Epub 2016 Feb 18. Liu FJ, Liu XY, Ma Y, Wang WL, Li JY. Research progress and analysis on mechanism of polysaccharides against type 2 diabetes mellitus]. Zhongguo Zhong, Yao Za Zhi. 2021 Feb;46(3):552-559. doi: 10.19540/j.cnki.cjcmm.20201125.601. PMID: 33645019. Xue Lin. Polysaccharides reducing the decomposition of starch and the absorption of blood sugar. International Conference on Frontiers of Biological Sciences and Engineering (FBSE 2018). AIP Conf. Proc. 2058, 020010-1–020010-8; https://doi.org/10.1063/1.5085523 Ekaterina Antonceva and Mark Shamtsyan. Antidiabetical and hypoglycemic action of mushroom polysaccharides. E3S Web of Conf., 215 (2020) 05001, doi.org/10.1051/e3sconf/202021505001 Teti Estiasih, Donny Umaro, Harijonp. Hypoglycemic effect of crude water soluble polysaccharide extracted from tubers of purple and yellow water yam (Dioscorea alata L.) on alloxan-induced hyperglycemia Wistar rats, Progress in Nutrition 2018; Vol. 20, Supplement 1: 59-67 DOI: 10.23751/pn.v20i1-S.5322 One of the many functional benefits of dietary fiber when present in the human diet is its ability to reduce the rate of absorption of glucose after consumption of high glycaemic foods, leading to a blunted glucose response curve and less demand for insulin. A literature review suggests that those consuming the highest amounts of dietary fiber, especially cereal fiber, may benefit from a reduction in the incidence of developing type 2 diabetes. Marc P. McRae, MSc, Dietary Fiber Intake and Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus: An Umbrella Review of Meta-analyses. J Chiropr Med 2018;17:44-53 Addition of soluble fiber to the diet can slow absorption of refined carbohydrates, i.e., lower the glycemic index of foods and overcome or at least ameliorate many of the adverse reactions resulting from increased refined carbohydrate ingestion. Preuss HG. Bean amylase inhibitor and other carbohydrate absorption blockers: effects on diabesity and general health. J Am Coll Nutr. 2009 Jun;28(3):266-76. doi: 10.1080/07315724.2009.10719781. PMID: 20150600. A Japanese study examined the inhibitory effect of a single ingestion of bread containing resistant starch on the postprandial increase in blood glucose. Bread not containing resistant starch (placebo) was used as the control. Postprandial increases in both blood glucose and blood insulin were significantly inhibited in subjects in the test group who took the test food in comparison with the placebo group. Yamada Y, Hosoya S, Nishimura S, Tanaka T, Kajimoto Y, Nishimura A, Kajimoto O. Effect of bread containing resistant starch on postprandial blood glucose levels in humans. Biosci Biotechnol Biochem. 2005 Mar;69(3):559-66. doi: 10.1271/bbb.69.559 Al-Tamimi EK, Seib PA, Snyder BS, Haub MD. Consumption of Cross-Linked Resistant Starch (RS4(XL)) on Glucose and Insulin Responses in Humans. J Nutr Metab. 2010:651063. doi: 10.1155/2010/651063. Flammang AM, Kendall DM, Baumgartner CJ, Slagle TD, Choe YS. Effect of a viscous fiber bar on postprandial glycemia in subjects with type 2 diabetes. J Am Coll Nutr. 2006 Oct;25(5):409-14. doi: 10.1080/07315724.2006.10719553. PMID: 17031010. The polysaccharide inulin is also used in the fight against diabetes Dehghan P, Pourghassem Gargari B, Asgharijafarabadi M. Effects of High Performance Inulin in Women with Type 2 Diabetes: A Randomized, Placebo- Controlled Clinical Trial. Health Promot Perspect 2013; 3(1): 55-63 Inulin is the polysaccharide with the strongest stimulation of NO synthesis. Koo HN, Hong SH, Seo HG, Yoo TS, Lee KN, Kim NS, Kim CH, Kim HM. Inulin stimulates NO synthesis via activation of PKC-alpha and protein tyrosine kinase, resulting in the activation of NF-kappaB by IFN-gamma-primed RAW 264.7 cells. J Nutr Biochem. 2003 Oct;14(10):598-605. The content of inulin is higher in stems than in leaves: 0.84 g/100gr vs 0.46 (personal communication Pamela Weathers 2014). The Artemisia afra plant is rich in luteolin. This flavone delays the digestion of starch and is an inhibitor of α-amylase. Thus, luteolin has the potential to prevent and control diabetes by being added into starch-based food to delay starch digestion. Yiling Zhao, Ming Wang, Jinsheng Zhang, The mechanism of delaying starch digestion by luteolin. Food & Function. 2021,12, 11862-11871 Compared with the drug acarbose which is used to treat type 2 diabetes starch extract obtained from tubers also has a significant α-amylase inhibitory effect. Chinedum Ogbonnaya Eleazu, Abagha Sampson Saidu Sani, Starch digestibility, polyphenol contents and in vitro alpha amylase inhibitory properties of two varieties of cocoyam (Colocassia esculenta and Xanthosoma mafafa) as affected by cooking. Journal of Food Measurement and Characterization 2018 12(2):1047-1053. DOI:10.1007/s11694-018-9720-9 Artemisia afra also contains thujone, which is absent in Artemisia annua. In a murine trial, rats were divided into four groups (non-diabetic control, diabetic streptotocin induced control, non-diabetic with thujone, and diabetic with thujone) and were orally given either thujone (60mg/kg) or vehicle for 4 weeks. After thujone administration, plasma glucose level and glucose tolerance, as estimated were improved. Hakam Hasan Alkhateeb, Mohammed Al-Duais. Plasma glucose-lowering effect of thujone and its molecular mechanisms of action in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats. April 2018 Pharmacologyonline 1:196-208 The use of thujone, a monoterpene ketone often present in sage Salvia officinalis or wormwood Artemisia absinthium, for the treatment of diabetes mellitus was recently suggested in a German study. Evidence was based on the findings obtained in a diabetic rat model. Dirk W. Lachenmeier, Stephan G. Walch. The choice of thujone as drug for diabetes Natural Product Research, Volume 25, 2011, 1890-1892. doi.org/10.1080/14786419.2011.622279 Artemisia sp., especially A. annua and A. afra, have been used for centuries to treat many ailments. While in studies against malaria artemisinin is the main therapeutically active component, emerging evidence demonstrates that the other phytochemicals in this genus are also therapeutically active. Synergy between these ingredients probably plays a major role. This is what the French call the « totum » effect of a plant. Gruessner BM, Cornet-Vernet L, Desrosiers MR, Lutgen P, Towler MJ, Weathers PJ. It is not just artemisinin: Artemisia sp. for treating diseases including malaria and schistosomiasis. Phytochem Rev. 2019;18(6):1509-1527. doi:10.1007/s11101-019-09645-9 CYP3A4 inhibition by Artemisia plants may play a major role. In a pioneering study in 2010, the University of Louvain had studied the anti-inflammatory effect and modulation of cytochrome P450 activities by Artemisia annua tea infusions in human intestinal Caco-2 cells Melillo de Magalhães, Yves-Jacques Schneider. Anti-inflammatory effect and modulation of cytochrome P450 activities by Artemisia annua tea infusions in human intestinal Caco-2 cell Food Chemistry 134(2):864-71 · September 2012 This was confirmed at the VUB in Brussels. CYP3A4 inhibition was surprisingly high for all Artemisia samples, up to 6 times higher than for ketoconazole (0.11 µg/mL), the well known CYP3A4 inhibitor, or for diluted grapefruit juice. Lazaridi Kristina. Invloed van de chemische samenstelling van Artemisia annua op CYP3A4-activiteit en antioxidant vermogen. Masterproef VUB, 2014 New developments in polysaccharide chemistry are taking place in clinical drug delivery systems. The clinical efficacy of drugs is often limited by a number of obstacles, including unfavorable solubility, loss of bioactive structure prior to reaching the disease lesion site, inadequate cellular uptake. Tianxin Miao, Junqing Wang, Yun Zeng, Gang Liu, Xiaoyuan Chen Polysaccharide-Based Controlled Release Systems for Therapeutics Delivery and Tissue. Advanced Science 08 January 2018. https://doi.org/10.1002/advs.201700513 Conclusion All this highlights the vital importance to include in aqueous Artemisia infusions, not only the leaves, but also the stems. Decoction might also be recommended to obtain higher extraction yields from the ligneous stems.