The Hypoglycemic Effect of Pumpkin Seeds, Trigonelline (TRG), Nicotinic Acid (NA), and D-Chiro-inositol (DCI) in Controlling Glycemic Levels in Diabetes Mellitus

In the contemporary society, diabetes mellitus is considered as a common, growing, serious, costly, and potentially preventable public health problem. It is forecasted that in 2030, the number of people with diabetes will go up from 117 million in 2000 to 366 million in 2030. The prevalence of diabetes will place a huge burden on health and financial structures of countries, and these will impact on individuals, as well as families and nations. Polysaccharides, para-aminobenzoic acid, fixed oils, sterol, proteins, and peptides are biologically active ingredients, which are found in pumpkins. The chemicals within pumpkins such as the fruit pulp, oil from ungerminated seeds, and protein from germinated seeds have hypoglycemic properties. Preliminary investigation showed that pumpkin seeds, and the macromolecules, therein, such as Trigonelline (TRG), Nicotinic acid (NA), and D-chiro-inositol (DCI), possess hypoglycemic properties and could assist in maintaining glycemic control.