Scientists' hopes for yacon leaf as a treatment for diabetes are crushed due to long-term toxicity
By Donna Earnest Pravel
Yacon
leaf (Smallantus sonchifolius) is an herb that has become popular in
recent years due to a few controlled medical studies showing the
positive effects of yacon leaf on diabetic rats. The herb is used in
South America to control blood sugar. Some commercial green superfood
formula makers list yacon leaf as an ingredient. Yacon is considered a
superfood because it it high in flavanoids, fructooligosaccharides, and
antioxidants. The interest in yacon leaf motivated a team of researchers
in 2011 to study the long-term effects of yacon leaf extract. They
experimented with yacon leaf tea on diabetic rats for ninety days. The
results were that long-term usage of yacon leaf caused kidney damage in
the rats. Yacon leaf is no longer being considered as a possible therapy
for diabetes.
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