...
Therefore, taking creatine with products that can safely and effectively alter insulin levels and/or sensitivity such as banaba extract and gymnema sylvestre may enhance creatine uptake and retention. While these two herbs have been used for years in Eastern medicine to control diabetes, they are very new compounds to Western science. Corosolic acid (the active ingredient in Banaba extract) and gymnemic acid (the active ingredient in Gymnema sylvestre) closely mimic insulin by SAFELY stimulating much greater glucose into cells while not allowing plasma insulin levels to increase. It has also been plausibly theorized that with this increased cellular transport of glucose, there will also be an increased transport of creatine phosphate into the cell (7-19). In some studies where they conducted direct comparisons with insulin, corosolic acid and gymnemic acid actually performed just as well as insulin at controlling blood. sugar in patients with Type II diabetes. Therefore while corosolic acid and gymnemic acid have a mechanism of action similar to insulin, they do have a distinct advantage over insulin, in that it is not an “equal opportunity” deposition agent, like insulin. In other words, insulin can be problematic and beneficial at the same time, in that while it can increase deposition of glucose, protein and creatine into the muscles, it can also have a negative effect by increasing body fat levels. Plus, when the body produces too much insulin over time, it begins to become insensitive to the hormone, resulting in a down-regulation of insulin receptors on target tissue (7-10, 13-21).
Gymnemic acid has also been shown to interact with receptors on the tongue to decrease the sensation of sweetness in many foods. This action has been shown to reduce blood sugar and cholesterol levels in diabetic animals and humans and may provide some benefits in terms of regulating appetite control and food cravings (19,20). Research have isolated at least nine different fractions of gymnemic acid, with each fraction possessing glucose-repartitioning activity (21-24). The effect of gymnemic acid on lowering glucose levels in the blood is gradual, usually typically taking a few days. Very high doses of gymnemic acid may even help to repair the cellular damage that causes diabetes (by helping to regenerate the insulin producing beta-cells in the pancreas). Human studies on gymnema in diabetes treatment have shown significant reduction in blood glucose, glycosylated hemoglobin (an index of blood sugar control) and insulin requirements (so insulin therapy could be reduced) (23). There appears to be due to an increase in the effectiveness of insulin with gymnema, rather than causing the body to produce more – although the precise mechanism by which this occurs remains unknown. As with other natural ingredients for control of blood sugar and insulin levels, such as corosolic acid, a common “side effect” is weight loss – probably due to a combination of appetite suppression and control of food cravings (especially for carbohydrates and sweets) (19-24).
Corosolic Acid (the active ingredient in Banaba Extract) has been shown to increase GLUT4 translocation in human studies. GLUT4 (muscle facilitative glucose isoform 4, a transporter protein) translocation is important because GLUT4 is a transporter protein that regulates the amount of glucose allowed into skeletal muscle cells. Corosolic acid increases the ability of the body to regulate the amount of glucose coming into a cell, and in diabetic patients, this allows for greater glucose disposal in the muscle cells. This keeps plasma insulin levels the same, meaning that the intake of corosolic acid as an insulin mimicking/glucose control agent has significant nutrient repartitioning effects (7-11). In this case, nutrient repartitioning means that while creatine, glucose, and protein are being deposited in the muscle cells, fat is not being deposited in adipocytes (fat cells), as is the case with insulin (8). This is very important, because when more simple carbohydrates are ingested after a workout, it can be theorized that more blood glucose (and creatine) are deposited into the muscle. This can help the athlete retain a more positive nitrogen balance, thus enhancing recovery and building mass, making corosolic acid and gymnemic acid important components that contribute to the profound affects of NeoVar (8-10).
...
REFERENCES
7. Department of Clinical Nutrition, Suzuka University Medical Science (2004). Corosolic Acid induces GLUT4 translocation in genetically type 2 diabetic mice. Biol Pharm Bull 2004 Jul. 27(7): 1103-5.
8. Judy WV, Hari SP, Judy JS, Naguib YM, Passwater R et al. (2003). Antidiabetic activity of a standardized extract (Glucosol) from Lagerstroemia speciosa leaves in Type II diabetics. A dose-dependant study. J Ethnopharmacol 87(1) 115-117.
9. Miura T. et al. (2006). Antidiabetic effects of corosolic acid in KK-Ay in diabetic mice. Biol Pharm Bull 29(3): 585-587.
10. Fukushima M. et al. (2006). Effect of corosolic acid on postchallenge plasma glucose levels. Translational Research Informatics Center, Foundation for Biomedical Research and Innovation, 1-5-4, Minatojimaminamimachi, Chuo-ku, Kobe, Japan.
11. Liu L. et al. (2001). An Extract of Lagerstroemia speciosa L. Has Insulin-Like Glucose Uptake-Stimulatory and Adipoctype Differentiation-Inhibitory Activities in 3T3-L1 Cells. J of Nutr. 131: 2242-47.
12. Hong H, Maeng W (2004). Effects of malted barley extract and banaba extract on blood glucose levels in genetically diabetic mice. J Med Food. 7(4): 487-90.
13. Gholap S, Kar A. Effects of Inula racemosa root and Gymnema sylvestre leaf extracts in the regulation of corticosteroid induced diabetes mellitus: involvement of thyroid hormones. Pharmazie 2003;58(6):413-415.
14. Grover JK, Yadav S, Vats V. Medicinal plants of India with anti-diabetic potential. J Ethnopharmacol 2002;81(1):81-100.
15. Jiang H. [Advances in the study on hypoglycemic constituents of Gymnema sylvestre (Retz.) Schult]. Zhong Yao Cai 2003;26(4):305-307.
16. Kamei K, Takano R, Miyasaka A, et al. Amino acid sequence of sweet-taste-suppressing peptide (gurmarin) from the leaves of Gymnema sylvestre. J Biochem 1992;111:109-112.
17. Khare AK, Tondon RN, Tewari JP. Hypoglycaemic activity of an indigenous drug (Gymnema sylvestre, "Gurmar") in normal and diabetic persons. Indian J Physiol Pharm 1983;27:257-258.
18. Kothe A, Uppal R. Antidiabetic effects of Gymnema sylvestre in NIDDM - a short study. Indian J Homeopath Med 1997;32(1-2):61-62, 66.
19. Lawless HT. Evidence for neural inhibition in bittersweet taste mixtures. J Comp Physiol Psychol 1979;93(3):538-547.
20. Meiselman HL, Halperin BP. Human judgments of Gymnema sylvestre and sucrose mixtures. Physiol Behav 1970;5(8):945-948.
21. Meiselman HL, Halpern BP. Effects of Gymnema sylvestre on complex tastes elicited by amino acids and sucrose. Physiol Behav 1970;5(12):1379-1384.
22. Min BC, Sakamoto K. Influence of sweet suppressing agent on gustatory brain evoked potentials generated by taste stimuli. Appl Human Sci 1998;17(1):9-17.
23. Murakami N, Murakami T, Kadoya M, et al. New hypoglycemic constituents in "gymnemic acid" from Gymnema sylvestre. Chem Pharm Bull 1996;44(2):469-471.
24. Porchezhian E, Dobriyal RM. An overview on the advances of Gymnema sylvestre: chemistry, pharmacology and patents. Pharmazie 2003;58(1):5-12.
...
