Diabetes Drug May Treat Ulcerative Colitis Through Hydrogen Production
- Authors
- De-Qing Zhang, Jian-Hong Zhu, Wei-Chang Chen
- Journal
- African Journal of Traditional, Complementary and Alternative Medicines
- Year
- 2012
- DOI
- 10.4314/ajtcam.v10i1.22
- Study Type
- clinical
- Peer Reviewed
- Yes
- Country
- China
- Health Condition
- Ulcerative Colitis
- Body System
- Gastrointestinal
TL;DR
Scientists found that a diabetes medicine called acarbose might actually help treat a painful gut condition called ulcerative colitis by creating more hydrogen gas in your intestines, which reduces inflammation and damage caused by harmful molecules.
Key Finding
Acarbose may produce therapeutic benefits in ulcerative colitis by increasing hydrogen gas production in the gastrointestinal tract, which could neutralize oxidative stress and reduce intestinal inflammation.
Summary
Acarbose is a diabetes medication that causes a side effect—increased gas production—when bacteria in the colon ferment undigested carbohydrates. This process produces hydrogen gas. Researchers propose that this hydrogen gas might help treat ulcerative colitis (a type of inflammatory bowel disease) by reducing oxidative stress (cellular damage from harmful molecules) in the intestines.
Practical Takeaway
This is a theoretical proposal based on the known mechanism of acarbose, not yet tested in human patients with ulcerative colitis. Before considering acarbose for this purpose, clinical trials in humans would be needed to determine if it actually helps and is safe for this use. Anyone with ulcerative colitis should consult their doctor before trying any new treatment.
Abstract
Acarbose，which is clinically widely used to treat Type 2 Diabetes，is thought to act at the small intestine by competitively inhibiting enzymes that delay the release of glucose from complex carbohydrates, thereby specifically reducing post prandial glucose excursion. The major side-effect of treatment with acarbose, flatulence, occurs when undigested carbohydrates are fermented by colonic bacteria, resulting in considerable amount of hydrogen. We propose that enteric benefits of acarbose is partly attributable to be their ability to neutralise oxidative stress via increased production of H2 in the gastrointestinal tract. Therefore, symptoms of ulcerative colitis in human beings can be ameliorated by acarbose.