CHEMICAL AND PHYTOCHEMICAL CHARACTERIZATION OF SUNFLOWER (HELIANTHUS) SEED POWDER TO CHECK ITS THERAPEUTIC PROPERTIES FOR THE MANAGEMENT OF INSULIN RESISTANCE IN DIABETIC HUMAN SUBJECTS

Abstract

Diabetes mellitus (DM) is regarded as one of the top ten main causes of death globally, creating a huge global health burden due to its rising prevalence and consequences. It is a chronic metabolic condition characterized by persistent hyperglycemia caused by either inadequate insulin synthesis or poor insulin utilization, which results in glucose intolerance and systemic metabolic deregulation. Diabetes has long-term implications such as cardiovascular disease, nephropathy, neuropathy, and retinopathy, thus good treatment measures are critical for lowering morbidity and death. Despite the extensive use of synthetic antidiuretic pharmaceuticals, herbal remedies are gaining popularity due to their efficacy, safety, and less side effects. These natural remedies serve to adjust insulin sensitivity, control glucose metabolism, and minimize oxidative stress, all of which help manage diabetes. Among these, sunflower (Helianthus) has received interest for its potential as a functional herbal intervention in diabetes treatment. Current research was investigated to evaluate the therapeutic properties against diabetes for this purpose firstly the sunflower seeds powder was evaluated for it proximate,mineral and phytochemical analysis which showed that it contains the appreciable amount of all essential nutrients and can be used for various disease after that clinical trail was conducted on the human diabetic patients that were selected on the basis of their consent and inclusion and exclusion criteria in which 30 females were divided in to 3 groups in which G₀ were as control group and G₁ AND G₂ were as treatment group that were receiving the dose of 6g and 12 g of sunflower seeds for the periods of 2 months.The influence of sunflower seed powder on diabetes patients' blood sugar levels was checked every seventh day for 2 months, and HbA1c assessments were done initially and after 2 months. The results showed that 12g sunflower seed powder for 60 days showed highly significant results against random blood sugar levels and HbA1c without showing any adverse effects.