Licorice has diabetes all sorted

18 November 2009

Adeline Chia

PhD student Adeline Chia from the University's Sunway campus in Malaysia has discovered that a compound in licorice can lower blood glucose.

Ms Adeline Chia's research on a natural compound called glycyrrhizic acid - widely found in commercial licorice products - has shown it contained lipid lowering effects in test subjects besides its glucose lowering effect.

Type 2 diabetes is a chronic disease marked by high levels of sugar (glucose) in the blood as a result of the body's failure to respond to insulin produced or its inability to produce insulin.

Excessive sugar damages blood vessels which in turn results in heart attacks, strokes, blindness and kidney failure.

Medicines currently available can mainly lower blood glucose levels. However Ms Chia's study showed that the compound also improved the lipid profile besides lowering blood glucose.

Lipids, commonly known as fats, refers to a related group of organic compounds such as fatty acids and cholesterol that are important for energy storage and as structural components. Abnormality in serum lipid concentrations, termed dyslipidaemia, is a condition commonly seen in patients with diabetes and is associated with increased risk of hardening of the arteries and heart attack.

The dedicated scientist, spurred with her positive findings, wants to take her discovery a step further and conduct a clinical trial.

"I see a future in this research even though my findings are in the preliminary stages," she said.

Ms Chia recently presented these findings at a regional scientific conference where she won a best poster prize.

"It was definitely an unexpected but rewarding experience. I'm more confident about presenting my research findings now," she said.

"I'm glad that it is getting recognition and support from the scientific world."

Ms Chia, who completed her undergraduate degree and Honours at the Sunway campus, said the dedicated teaching staff and state-of-the-art facilities had contributed a lot to her success and she hoped to join the academic and research field once she completed her PhD.