Anti - diabetic Effect of Sodium

Many attempts have been made to treat diabetes mellitus with oral medic ation, but none of them seems to have been successful. It has been known that a decoction of Eunymus alata sieb growing in Japan has a blood sugar lowering ac tion. The effective component was isolated, crystallized, and identified as oxaloacetic acid (OAA) by infrared spectral analysis . Stable salt of O AA (OAA sodium) was prepared. The administration of OAA-sodium brought about lowering of the blood sugar level in normal and alloxan diabetic animals. The same drug was given to diabetic patients, and it was found effective in all of 10 of Type I and in 6 of 11 of Type II diabetics according to Yamakawa nd Kurokawa's classifica tion. A long-term administration of OAA-sodium induced hyperplasia nd prolifera tion of the islet cells of the pancreas in rats, but no mentionable changes were found in the other organs. It is strongly suspected that OAA-sodium stimulates insulin secretion through some unknown mechanism.