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Karoo home to miracle cure?
28/11/2007 17:34 - (SA)
Johannesburg - A plant found only in the Eastern Cape has been hailed as a new miracle cure for diabetes, The Herald Online reported on Wednesday.
Researchers said "astounding results" had been obtained on the effect of extracts of the Karoo plant Sutherlandia Frutescens in stabilising blood sugar in diabetes one and two.
The research formed part of a nationally-funded six-year project by biochemists at Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University.
Their experiments were done with financial help from the Medical Research Council, the National Research Foundation and natural health company Value Added Life.
University Trust executive director Kotie Grove described the research as the most exciting in the field of natural medication so far in the Eastern Cape.
"The product uses an indigenous plant from which the substance is extracted and manufactured into an over-the-counter medication right here in our province," he said.
"The research is conducted in Port Elizabeth at the university, and has been independently verified by scientists in other parts of the world."
The World Health Organisation estimates that more than 180 million people worldwide have diabetes.
This number is likely to more than double by 2030.
- SAPA
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