Medicinal and Edible Raw Materials with Hypoglycemic Function

On December 14, the Second National Nutrition Literacy Conference was held in Beijing. “Food & Medicine Homology” was selected as one of the “Top Ten Nutrition Hot Words in 2024”, which has attracted wide attention.
Food & Medicine Homology is an important theory of traditional Chinese medicine with a long history. This theory holds that many foods are medicines that can be used as daily diet and prevent and treat diseases. Ancient medical scientists applied the “four natures” and “five flavors” theories of traditional Chinese medicine to food, believing that each food also has “four natures and five flavors” (cold, hot, warm, cool properties and sour, bitter, sweet, pungent, salty five tastes). Food and medicine are closely related.
At present, diabetes has become a serious public health problem in the world. The incidence is rising by year, and the trend is also younger, seriously threatening people’s lives and health. Faced with this severe situation, traditional drug treatments are often accompanied by certain side effects. Therefore, exploring safe and effective methods of lowering blood sugar is of great significance for the prevention and treatment of diabetes.
Among many medicinal and edible raw materials, mulberry leaves, wolfberry, kudzu root and platycodon are popular for their remarkable hypoglycemic effects. The flavonoids and special component 1-deoxynojirimycin (DNJ) in mulberry leaves can slow down the absorption and conversion of glucose, thereby lowering blood sugar levels. Wolfberry polysaccharides and rich isoflavones contained in kudzu root can promote glucose metabolism and insulin secretion, improve insulin resistance, and regulate blood sugar by increasing insulin sensitivity. Platycodon saponin can play a role in promoting the repair of islet cells and increasing insulin secretion.
These natural raw materials provide more treatment options for diabetic patients. With the deepening of people’s understanding of the medicinal and edible raw materials, the development prospects of this field will be broader. We believe that under the continuous progress of science and technology and the continuous promotion of the market, medicinal and edible raw materials will contribute more to human health.