[Asia Economy Reporter Junho Hwang] A domestic research team has developed a probiotic that promotes insulin secretion and helps improve blood sugar levels.
Dr. Dong Lim's research team at the Strategic Technology Research Division of the Korea Food Research Institute announced on the 23rd that the Pediococcus pentosaceus KI62 strain, a type of probiotic, inhibits carbohydrate breakdown and promotes insulin secretion, thereby improving blood sugar levels. Based on these research results, the team has already filed a patent.
Selection of Probiotics That Lower Blood Sugar
The research team demonstrated that the KI62 strain has superior blood sugar improvement capabilities compared to previously discovered probiotics. First, the team selected the KI62 strain from over 500 probiotic strains.
The KI62 strain excels at inhibiting alpha-amylase and alpha-glucosidase activities and produces short-chain fatty acids. Additionally, through evaluations such as food ingredient registration status, food intake experience surveys, antibiotic resistance, acid resistance, bile resistance, antibacterial activity, intestinal colonization ability, and enzyme activity analysis, it was confirmed to be a safe strain suitable for use as a food ingredient.
Promotes Insulin Secretion to Lower Blood Sugar
The research team confirmed that this strain lowers blood sugar through a complex mechanism that promotes glucose uptake and insulin secretion in cells and improves insulin resistance.
The team administered the KI62 strain to male experimental rats induced with diabetes for 8 weeks and observed blood sugar improvement effects compared to a non-administered control group. As a result, the group that consumed the KI62 strain showed reductions of 37.1%, 14.9%, and 6.7% in serum fructosamine, serum glucose, and serum insulin levels, respectively. Additionally, blood glycated hemoglobin levels decreased by 22.9%, while serum C-peptide5) levels increased by 2.2 times. The weight of pancreatic tissue increased by 8%, and increased insulin expression in beta cells within the pancreatic tissue was also confirmed.
Heedon Choi, head of the Strategic Technology Research Division, stated, "Considering the rapidly increasing population with metabolic diseases including diabetes in Korea, probiotic products using this probiotic with excellent blood sugar improvement effects are expected to greatly contribute to the growth of the related market."
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