Scientists around the globe are pursuing innovative avenues to break the pace of diabetes, which has now become an epidemic. A research, recently published in The Journal of Nutritional Biochemistry, investigates whether a compound found in cocoa could be useful in the fight.

People with type 2 diabetes are less sensitive to insulin. This means that the body needs to produce more insulin to achieve the desired regulatory effect. On top of this reduction in sensitivity to insulin, studies have shown that beta cells' ability to produce and secrete insulin is also hampered; this appears to be due to increased rates of cell death among beta cells. So, not only is the body less reactive to insulin, the cells responsible for creating insulin are reduced in number, further adding to the progression of type 2 diabetes.

Earlier research has shown that beta cells are particularly sensitive to oxidative stress (free radicals); for this reason, the researchers decided to investigate flavanol compounds in cocoa, which are known to have antioxidant powers. The researchers found that when rats received a high-fat diet that included a cocoa compound, levels of obesity were decreased and the rats' ability to handle increased glucose levels was increased.

Scientists have been investigating flavanols and how they might protect beta cell function for some time. However, the current study is the first to pinpoint the most effective molecule: a flavanol called catechin. In particular, catechin monomers gave the most positive results; these are single molecules, the smallest of the compounds to be investigated.

Next, the scientists needed to understand how catechin was making improvements; specifically, they wanted to know what was happening within the beta cells. Study author Jeffery Tessem, assistant professor of nutrition, dietetics, and food science at BYU, explains what they found: "What happens is, it's protecting the cells, it's increasing their ability to deal with oxidative stress. The catechin monomers are making the mitochondria in the beta cells stronger, which produces more ATP (a cell's energy source), which then results in more insulin being released."

This is the first time a potential mechanism has been described that helps explain how flavanols might improve beta cell function - epicatechin monomers strengthen beta cells' mitochondria, the power houses of the cell.

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