Onion extract may lower high blood sugar, cholesterol

Onion extract, Allium cepa, may help lower the high blood glucose (sugar) and cholesterol levels, says a new study.

According to a new research, the extract worked in diabetic rats, when given with the antidiabetic drug metformin, and lead investigator Anthony Ojieh, MBBS (MD), MSc, of Delta State University in Abraka, Nigeria, said that it has the potential for use in treating patients with diabetes.

Allium cepa also reportedly lowered the total cholesterol level in diabetic rats, with the two larger doses again having the greatest effects.

Onion extract led to an increase in average weight among nondiabetic rats but not diabetic rats.

Ojieh said that though onion is not high in calories, it seems to increase the metabolic rate and, with that, to increase the appetite, leading to an increase in feeding.

The onion extract used for the experiment was a crude preparation from onion bulb, which is available in the local market. If this were to be administered to humans, it would usually be purified so that only the active ingredients would be quantified for adequate dosing, Ojieh said.

The results were presented at The Endocrine Society's 97th annual meeting in San Diego.