Around 425 million people across the world have diabetes. For about 75 million of them, daily insulin injections are part of life.
But now, researchers may have found a new and more comfortable way to take insulin. Instead of using needles or pumps, people might soon take insulin by eating a capsule—or even better, a piece of chocolate.
Scientists from the University of Sydney and UiT Norway’s Arctic University have developed a new type of insulin that can be swallowed. This smart insulin is packed into tiny particles, called nano-carriers, which are about 1/10,000th the width of a human hair.
They are so small that even regular microscopes can’t see them. These particles safely carry the insulin through the body and release it where it is needed.
The big challenge with swallowing insulin has always been that it gets destroyed by stomach acid before it can work. To solve this, the scientists created a special coating to protect the insulin.
This coating keeps the insulin safe as it travels through the stomach and then breaks down only when it reaches the liver. That’s where insulin needs to go to work properly.
The new method is much more accurate than injections. It releases insulin only when blood sugar is high, and it stops when blood sugar is low. This helps avoid a dangerous drop in blood sugar, a condition known as hypoglycemia.
Professor Peter McCourt, a liver biologist from UiT, says that this targeted delivery reduces side effects and makes the insulin more effective. Nicholas J. Hunt from the University of Sydney adds that this method is more practical and safer for people with diabetes.
In healthy people, insulin is made in the pancreas and first goes to the liver. With injections, insulin is spread all over the body and can lead to fat build-up and other issues. This new method mimics the body’s natural way of processing insulin, reducing fat accumulation and lowering the risk of hypoglycemia.
One of the biggest benefits is convenience. No needles are needed, and the medicine can be taken in a simple, discreet way. It also doesn’t need to be stored in the fridge, which makes it much easier to use, especially in warm or remote places.
The new insulin has already been tested in animals. It was given to mice and rats with diabetes, and they didn’t suffer from low blood sugar or gain extra weight. More recently, 20 healthy baboons in Australia took part in tests.
The researchers mixed the insulin into sugar-free chocolate, and the baboons happily ate it. Their blood sugar levels dropped without any negative side effects.
Next, the researchers plan to test the new insulin in humans. These clinical trials will start in 2025. The first phase will check the safety of the medicine and whether it causes low blood sugar in people with and without diabetes. If this goes well, later phases will see how well the oral insulin works compared to injections.
The team hopes that, if all goes well, this new form of insulin could be available to everyone within the next two to three years.
If you care about diabetes, please read studies about the cooking connection between potatoes and diabetes, and low calorie diets may help reverse type 2 diabetes.
For more health information, please see recent studies about protein power: a new ally in diabetes management, and pineapple and diabetes: A sweet surprise.
The study findings can be found in Nature Nanotechnology.
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