Presentation Type
Three Minute Thesis
Location
Atwood Memorial Student Union
Start Date
11-4-2018 12:00 AM
End Date
11-4-2018 12:00 AM
Description
Award for "Best Three Minute Thesis".
Abstract
Garcinia kola (GKE) is a native tree in West and Central Africa. People there consume its seeds on a regular basis for cultural or medicinal purposes. When it comes to consuming herbal extracts as treatment alternatives, the supposed health claims are often backed with anecdotal evidence told by older relatives or naturopathic health providers. The initial reports that GKE has anti-diabetic potential were the driving force for creating my experimental design. I did a literature search to explore previously performed research in this area, which resulted in an initial eight manuscripts. My search expanded into chemical properties of GKE to assist in the development of an extraction protocol, and to try to understand how this compound is metabolized. When I started to generate data from continuous experiments, I did more literature searches on GKE in other disease models to help formulate a mechanism to explain how GKE is working in my experimental model. The general assumption stated in the literature was that GKE has anti-diabetic (i.e. anti-inflammatory and hypoglycemic) properties. These cited assumptions began as traditional anecdotal evidence, passed on from generation to generation in Africa, and were supported through the laboratory work that was done on the African continent. My project, however, does not confirm any of these previously published results; in fact, the work shows the quite opposite. I used the experimental design to evaluate these supported claims; consistent glucose measurements were performed, and full characterization and functional analyses completed to determine whether cells that propagate or diminish inflammation would be induced by the GKE treatment.
Included in
Alternative and Complementary Medicine Commons, Biology Commons, Immunology and Infectious Disease Commons, Pharmacology, Toxicology and Environmental Health Commons
Herbal remedies and type 1 diabetes--a cautionary tale [Three minute thesis]
Atwood Memorial Student Union
Award for "Best Three Minute Thesis".
Abstract
Garcinia kola (GKE) is a native tree in West and Central Africa. People there consume its seeds on a regular basis for cultural or medicinal purposes. When it comes to consuming herbal extracts as treatment alternatives, the supposed health claims are often backed with anecdotal evidence told by older relatives or naturopathic health providers. The initial reports that GKE has anti-diabetic potential were the driving force for creating my experimental design. I did a literature search to explore previously performed research in this area, which resulted in an initial eight manuscripts. My search expanded into chemical properties of GKE to assist in the development of an extraction protocol, and to try to understand how this compound is metabolized. When I started to generate data from continuous experiments, I did more literature searches on GKE in other disease models to help formulate a mechanism to explain how GKE is working in my experimental model. The general assumption stated in the literature was that GKE has anti-diabetic (i.e. anti-inflammatory and hypoglycemic) properties. These cited assumptions began as traditional anecdotal evidence, passed on from generation to generation in Africa, and were supported through the laboratory work that was done on the African continent. My project, however, does not confirm any of these previously published results; in fact, the work shows the quite opposite. I used the experimental design to evaluate these supported claims; consistent glucose measurements were performed, and full characterization and functional analyses completed to determine whether cells that propagate or diminish inflammation would be induced by the GKE treatment.
