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Insulin in plants relieves diabetes in mice |
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13:20, August 03, 2007 |
Insulin grown in plants has been shown to relieve diabetes in mice, according to a new study.
Diabetic mice showed signs of recovery after they were treated with insulin grown in plants, showed the study, conducted by a research team at the University of Central Florida.
In the study, the researchers genetically engineered tobacco plants with the insulin gene and then administered freeze-dried plant cells to five-week-old diabetic mice as a powder for eight weeks. By the end of the study, the diabetic mice had normal blood and urine sugar levels, and their cells were producing normal levels of insulin.
These results and prior research indicate that insulin capsules could someday be used to prevent diabetes before symptoms appear and treat the disease in its later stages, said biochemist Henry Daniell, who led the study.
Daniell has since proposed using lettuce instead of tobacco to produce the insulin because the crop can be produced cheaply and avoids the negative stigma associated with tobacco.
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