Proprietary fig extract from Euromed support blood glucose and inflammation, says animal study
A recently published animal study found that the proprietary fig extract, rich in abscisic acid, supports glucose tolerance and insulin sensitivity.
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A recent animal study published in Scientific Reports1 found that a proprietary fig extract (ABAlife from Euromed; Mollet del Vallès, Spain), rich in abscisic acid supports, glucose tolerance and insulin sensitivity. In mice with diet-induced obesity, the consumption of the fig extract at 0.125 µg ABA/kg body weight improved glucose tolerance, insulin sensitivity, and fasting blood glucose, decreasing systemic inflammation. Researchers also found that the extract modulated metabolic activity of muscles, increasing the expression of glycogen synthase, glucose, fatty acid and mitochondrial metabolism genes and increases direct measures of fatty acid oxidation, glucose oxidation and metabolic flexibility in soleus muscle cells of treated mice.
In both mice and humans, lanthionine synthetase C-like 2 (LANCL2) has been characterized as the natural receptor for abscisic acid. When researchers generated muscle-specific knockouts of LANCL2, they found that the effects of abscisic acid to support glycemic response were abrogated in the absence of LANCL2, demonstrating the contribution of skeletal muscle LANCL2 signaling to the overall glycemic response to abscisic acid-enriched fig extract.
“This study is the culmination of decades of research regarding how abscisic acid exerts its antidiabetic and anti-inflammatory properties, and the validation of LANCL2 as the molecular target for ABA in skeletal muscle,” said Josep Bassaganya-Riera, PhD, one of the study’s authors, in a press release. “We already validated the safety and tolerability of fig extract-derived ABA in a Phase I clinical trial in healthy people, during which we demonstrated glycaemic improvements.2 These new insights further support the clinical development of ABA and take us one step closer to Phase II clinical testing in prediabetic patients.”
References
- Leber, A et al. “Abscisic acid enriched fig extract promotes insulin sensitivity by decreasing systemic inflammation and activating LANCL2 in skeletal muscle.” Scientific Reports, vol. 10 (2020)
- Atkinson FS et al. “Abscisic acid standardized fig (Ficus carica) extracts ameliorate postprandial glycemic and insulinemic responses in healthy adults. Nutrients, vol. 11, no. 8 (2019): 1757
