Banaba leaf (Lagerstroemia speciosa L) comes from trees originating in Southeast Asia. The leaves have been used in traditional medicine in the Philippines and India for diabetes and weight management. The active component in banaba leaf is called corosolic acid. Scientists at Arkansas State University1 are suggesting that this plant-derived corosolic acid is a diabetic drug of the future.
Using insulin to help regulate diabetes has a tendency to provoke an undesirable immune response that leads to the production of anti-insulin antibodies. This causes deterioration of insulin’s usefulness to function correctly in metabolism. Corosolic acid mimics the function of insulin but does not cause the production of these problematic autoantibodies. While human studies still need to be done, animal studies and traditional use support a powerful use of this nutrient in the regulation of blood sugar.
Other research on corosolic acid shows that it may also help bones2. In an animal study corosolic acid was found to help stimulate the formation of osteoblasts, the important bone building carpenter cells. It is becoming more evident with each passing day that bone health and blood sugar metabolism are highly interdependent.
Yet another study shows that corosolic acid can reduce inflammation3 in heart cells, preventing hypertrophy, a common problem in diabetes. It did so by reducing the powerful inflammatory gene signal, NF-kappaB.
Collectively, these studies show multiple benefits for key issues that are affecting millions of Americans.


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