Sebacic Acid, an Ingredient of Castor Oil, Helps with Diabetes

In a recent study, European scientists (Membrez. 2010) found that sebacic acid, a natural ingredient of castor oil improves blood sugar control in a mouse model of diabetes.

The scientists fed their mice a diet containing 1.5% or 15% of sebatic acid (SA) over a period of 6 weeks and found:

After 42 days of supplementation, fasting glycaemia and HbA1c were ∼70 and 25% lower in the SA_15% group compared with the other groups showing a beneficial effect of SA on hyperglycaemia. During OGTT, plasma glucose area under the curve was reduced after SA_15% compared with the other groups. This effect was associated with a tendency for an improved insulin response. In the liver, Pck1 and FBP mRNA were statistically decreased in the SA_15% compared with Ctrl suggesting a reduced hepatic glucose output induced by SA.

While these are certainly encouraging results, it remains questionable whether or not it would be feasible for humans to achieve sufficiently high sebatic acid intake to reap the benefits of this previously ignored constituent of castor oil.