Joint Research Results of Korea Institute of Oriental Medicine and Gachon University College of Korean Medicine
A traditional medicinal herb 'Ganghwal,' used for improving blood circulation and relieving pain, has been found to promote insulin secretion twice as much as Western medicine, proving effective for diabetes.
▲A new species of Ligusticum native to Korea has been identified. [Photo provided by the National Institute of Biological Resources]
On the 30th, the Korea Institute of Oriental Medicine announced that Dr. Lee Jun's research team at the Herbal Medicine Resources Research Center, in collaboration with Professor Kang Ki-sung's team at Gachon University, discovered that a specific component extracted from the herbal medicine Ganghwal promotes insulin secretion and regulates blood sugar levels. Ganghwal is a traditional medicinal herb widely used in East Asia, including Korea, China, and Japan, for improving blood circulation, relieving pain, and enhancing immunity.
The research team analyzed the components of domestically native Ganghwal, taxonomically clearly identified, and verified its efficacy, thereby establishing new characteristics of Korean Ganghwal. First, they isolated and analyzed a total of 31 single components from domestically native Ganghwal and clearly identified the molecular structures of three new compounds. Notably, among the 31 single components, the Marmesinin component showed the strongest anti-diabetic effect. It was superior to the well-known existing diabetes treatment drug gliclazide, promoting insulin secretion twice as much as the existing treatment at the same concentration.
This research result was published on the 13th of last month in the international peer-reviewed journal ‘Pharmaceutics’ (IF 6.525, Q1).
Dr. Lee stated, “We have presented internationally recognized standards for the characteristics of domestically produced Ganghwal, which had been controversial,” and added, “We plan to focus on developing new diabetes treatments using herbal medicine resources through further research.”
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