Ginger, a common spice in Indian kitchens can manage high levels of blood sugar which create complications for long-term diabetic patients, a new study has claimed.

Researchers from the University of Sydney found that ginger has the power to control blood glucose by using muscle cells.

“Ginger extracts obtained from Buderim Ginger were able to increase the uptake of glucose into muscle cells independently of insulin,” Professor of pharmaceutical chemistry Basil Roufogalis, who led the research, said in a statement.

“This assists in the management of high levels of blood sugar that create complications for long-term diabetic patients, and may allow cells to operate independently of insulin,” Roufogalis said. “The components responsible for the increase in glucose were gingerols, the major phenolic components of the ginger rhizome. Under normal conditions, blood glucose level is strictly maintained within a narrow range, and skeletal muscle is a major site of glucose clearance in the body,” Roufogalis added.

The study was published in the journal Planta Medica .

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