For years congenital hyperinsulinism researchers have been studying the properties of green tea to potentially cure hypoglycemia due to hyperinsulinism/hyperammonemia syndrome. People suffering from this type of hyperinsulinism must load up on carbs before ingesting protein because of increased responsiveness to leucine. Many of these patients also take a medication, diazoxide, to control blood sugar levels. The condition, if not properly diagnosed or managed, can lead to brain damage.
Now researchers from the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center have teamed up together to take the research a step further. Further research continues to suggest that properties of this common plant and beverage could hold the promise of a cure for those living with a disorder. The results of the research are presented in the August 3, 2011 issue of The Journal of Biological Chemistry.
In the article, “Green Tea Polyphenols Control Dysregulated Glutamate Dehydrogenase In Transgenic Mice By Hijacking The ADP Activation Site,” it is demonstrated that two compounds found naturally in green tea were able to turn off the dysregulated glutamate dehydrogenase in mice that carry the same form of the disease as humans with HI/HA. This research shows that properties of green tea known as EGCG and ECG have the potential to stop the overproduction of insulin in patients with hypoglycemia due to the hyperinsulinism/hyperammonemia syndrome. The research is very promising and the HI community looks forward to practical applications that could result from this groundbreaking work.
