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Lee Swanson Research Update
L-leucine Appears to Reduce Risk of Developing Diabetes
July 2011
Increasing levels of the amino acid L-leucine in the diet may reduce blood sugar levels and improve the body’s ability to process fat in pre-diabetic lab animals, says a new study.
Supplementing the diet of lab mice with L-leucine was associated with improvements in liver levels of fat and glucose. The study, published in the journal PLoS One, may have implications for people at risk of diabetes or with metabolic syndrome.
"We found that adding just this one amino acid to the diet changed the metabolism in a lot of different pathways," said study leader C. Ronald Kahn, MD, from Harvard Medical School.
"It had effects that improved insulin sensitivity, improved their ability to metabolize sugar and fats and their overall metabolism improved."
Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is a condition characterized by central obesity, hypertension and disturbed glucose and insulin metabolism. The syndrome has been linked to increased risks of both type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease (CVD).
Diabetes affects an estimated 24 million Americans, equal to eight percent of the population. The total costs are thought to be as much as $174 billion, with $116 billion being direct costs from medication, according to 2005-2007 American Diabetes Association figures.
The new study tested the effects of supplemental L-leucine on various metabolic markers in mice fed a high-fat diet.
"The impact on the animals on the high-fat diet, even though it didn’t change how fat they got, was that their bodies were able to handle glucose better [after L-leucine addition to the diet]," Kahn said.
"Their glucose tolerance tests improved," he said. "Their bodies responded to insulin better than they would have before they got the L-leucine. It improved their ability to metabolize sugar and fats. It markedly improved their pre-diabetic condition. Their metabolic syndrome also improved."
The researchers concluded that the data showed the importance of understanding the effects of individual nutrients, and not just the effects of macronutrients like protein, on the development of diseases like diabetes.
PLoS ONE; Published online ahead of print.
