Volunteers are being sought in Scotland for a study into how blaeberry extract could help combat type 2 diabetes.
Experts from the University of Aberdeen will be exploring if a concentrated capsule form of the blaeberry, part of the blueberry family, which can be found most abundantly in the north and west Highlands, can be used to control the condition.
Sixty overweight male volunteers between the ages of 40-70 who live in Aberdeen city, Aberdeenshire or the surrounding area, are being sought for the 3 week study, which will examine if taking a capsule form of the fruit, improves symptoms.
Volunteers must be controlling their diabetes through their diet, rather than insulin.
Type 2 diabetes develops when the body either does not produce enough insulin or the insulin that is produced doesn’t work properly. The condition can be closely associated with lifestyle and obesity.
Dr Nigel Hoggard from the University of Aberdeen Rowett Institute for Nutrition and Health, who is leading the study, said, ‘The exact link between Type 2 diabetes and obesity has never been pinpointed. We think the answer to their connection lies in fat tissue. When fat increases, this is associated with a low grade inflammation, and the release of a number of hormones into the blood.
‘It is these hormones, and how they act on the glucose in our body, which we believe causes Type 2 diabetes to occur. We know that blaeberries are naturally very high in a chemical substance called polyphenols and we believe this substance could reduce the inflammation which occurs when fat increases.’
Volunteers will be asked to take a concentrated form of the berry as a capsule three times daily, equating to approximately 1 ½ cups of blaeberries. This will test whether the blaeberry helps reduce inflammation associated with increased fat tissue.
Those interested in volunteering for the study should contact Dr Hoggard on 01224 716655 or by email at N.Hoggard@abdn.ac.uk