There has been a growing interest in alternative therapies, including the use of plant foods such as onion to treat diabetic patients. Onion (Allium cepa L.) is a bulbous herb belonging to the vegetable family Alliceae, and and is so often treated as a single household vegetable. A. cepa has been used medicinally for hundreds of years.
Onion is known to have the richest sources of flavonoids and organosulfur compounds that possess strong antioxidant activities. There are multiple flavonoids present in onion that help keep the blood glucose level in order and also promote good health of human body.
It was evident that, crude Allium cepa produced hypoglycemic effects, thus it could be used as a dietary supplement in management of type 1 and/or type 2 diabetes mellitus.
Study published in Prev. Nutr. Food Sci. 2013;18(3):169-174 suggests that ripe onion juice may be able to normalize the blood glucose levels when doses are continuous for long periods.
In another study shows that the levels of total serum cholesterol, total serum lipids and blood glucose levels which were actually raised in alloxan diabetic rats can be lowered by onions aqueous extracts (Journal of Medicinal Plants Research Vol. 5(7), pp. 1134-1139, 4 April, 2011).
Onion juice for diabetes
