Awhile ago I came across a news feed on a seller of lychee seeds claiming that the seeds could cure diabetes. Out of curiosity thinking that it could be another scam, I decided to do some research on it.
D.O. Gray (1962) analysed lychee seeds and found a toxin known as methylenecycloproprylglycine in lychee seeds. This compound caused significant blood glucose level reduction in lab rats. Thus it may possess hypoglycaemic properties.
Zhang He, Teng Yin (1986) experimented on lychee antidiabetic pill between 1982 to 1983 on 45 patients with DM. The experiment showed that lychee is effective against improving hyperglycaemic symptoms and could be potentially used as an anti-diabetic agent.
Guo. et al (2004) investigated the mechanisms of lychee water extract on antagonising insulin resistance in rats with type 2 DM. They concluded that lychee water extract is effective in antagonising insulin resistance and improve kidney and liver function in rats.
Throughout the years India has constantly being reported to have outbreaks of hypoglycaemic encephalopathy. In 2013, the CDC has linked the hypoglycaemic outbreaks to lychee consumption.
As there are still limited studies to prove the efficacy of lychee as an antidiabetic agent, it is inconclusive to determine its effectiveness in treating of diabetes mellitus. More studies on lychee could be done to strengthen the findings. However, lychee has demonstrated huge potential in controlling blood sugar level, or at least, caused many children who works in lychee orchards in India to suffer from hypoglycaemic encephalopathy. Lychee could be one of the key to advancement of diabetic treatment.
