Glucofit: banaba supplement for regulating blood glucose

Glucofit™ is a banaba supplement extracted naturally from the leaves of Lagestroemia speciosa. This renowned Asian plant helps to regulate glycaemia and maintain a healthy weight. Its content of corosolic acid, the plant’s main active ingredient, is standardised to 18% for maximum efficacy.

Why is it so important to lower glycaemia?

Blood sugar control is a key indication of good health. To understand why, we need to take a moment to look at carbohydrate metabolism.

During digestion, carbohydrates are broken down by digestive enzymes into simple, directly-absorbed sugars called monosaccharides, the chief one being glucose. Glucose moves directly into capillaries in the intestinal villi and then travels to the liver via the hepatic portal vein, producing an increase in glycaemia. At this point, the glucose can either:

• remain in the blood to maintain normal glycaemia;
• be used directly by the liver for its metabolic activity;
• reach the body’s cells to serve as instant fuel;
• be stored in the liver and/or skeletal muscle as glycogen, a form of energy storage.

The last two options are governed by insulin, a hormone secreted by the pancreas: its fundamental role is to lower blood sugar levels by, in particular, promoting the absorption of glucose by cells.

If glycaemia is too high, however, these ‘buffer’ mechanisms become saturated. The insulin then converts the excess glucose into fat deposits which will be stored in adipose tissue, potentially leading to weight gain.

What’s more, in overweight individuals, cell receptors tend to become indifferent to insulin, preventing the uptake of glucose, so creating a vicious circle: this is referred to as insulin resistance. (1) It’s the starting point for various metabolic disorders, precipitating the onset of cardiovascular problems in particular.

It should also be noted that the reaction that takes place between glucose and proteins (glycation) has the effect of accelerating cellular ageing (2).

Banaba leaves, Asia’s ‘green insulin’

Indigenous to tropical Asia, banaba (Lagestroemia speciosa) is part of the Lythraceae family. Populating the forests of the Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and Taiwan, it bears magnificent flowers ranging in colour from bright pink to purple, making it a very popular ornamental tree.

However, it’s the banaba leaves which are of particular interest to the scientific community. Having featured for centuries in the traditional south-east Asian pharmacopoeia, they have gone on to be used in the form of an extract or a tea for overweight people or those with blood sugar problems (3). As a result, they are now referred to as ‘green insulin’ by those working in the field of nutraceuticals.

Banaba’s effects on blood sugar levels have made it the subject of several ongoing studies which are focusing on the role played by its corosolic acid.

What exactly is the corosolic acid in Glucofit™?

With the molecular formula C₃₀H₄₈O₄, corosolic acid is a pentacyclic triterpene with the scientific name 2-alpha-hydroxyursolic acid. It fulfils the role of transporting glucose across cell membranes, and has thus been widely popularised in the scientific literature as ‘phyto-insulin’ or ‘botanical insulin’.

Isolated in several plants such as cranberry and Japanese loquat, corosolic acid is predominantly known for being the most active compound in banaba leaf. Studies also suggest that its ellagitannins may act in the same way as, or synergistically with, corosolic acid (4).

It’s on the strength of these various factors that the supplement Glucofit™ features a banaba extract standardised to 18% corosolic acid for enhanced effects.

What health benefits are offered by the banaba supplement Glucofit™?

Glucofit™ offers two major benefits:

• Normalisation of blood sugar levels. A clinical study involving 100 subjects with type 2 pre-diabetes or diabetes looked at the effects of one month’s daily supplementation with a banaba extract standardised to 18% corosolic acid. The researchers observed a 10% reduction in fasting and post-prandial blood sugar levels. Similar results were seen in genetically diabetic mice (3-5).
• Aid to weight loss. In a comparative clinical study the preliminary results of which have just been published, subjects supplemented with the new Glucofit™ for 60 days lost more than 4.5kg including 70% in fat mass, while those given the old Glucosol^TM ‘only’ lost 3kg. These results appear to confirm the dose-dependent efficacy of corosolic acid for controlling weight (5).

Some additional advice for helping to lower blood sugar levels naturally

As well as supplementing with banaba, the following tips will also help you to reduce your blood glucose levels naturally:

• take regular exercise. During physical activity, muscles use more glucose in order to meet the increased energy needs. In addition, a sedentary lifestyle promotes insulin resistance by reducing type 1 slow muscle fibres, which are particularly glucose-hungry. Mobilizing these specific tissues through endurance exercise is therefore particularly recommended (6) ;
• choose foods with a low glycaemic index (GI). Consuming high GI foods (sweets, refined cereals, puffed rice …) causes a sudden rise in glycaemia and a significant release of insulin. Instead eat whole fruits, vegetables, whole starches and pulses, which will also ensure a good fibre intake. And keep your portions moderate. (7) ;
• relax. In primitive times, stress alerted the body to imminent danger and triggered the ‘fight or flight’ response by increasing the energy resources available. In a stressful situation, the antagonist of insulin, glucagon, causes glucose to be released into the bloodstream through the conversion of glycogen. The result is a rise in blood sugar levels. To maintain normal glycaemia, try meditation, yoga or relaxation exercises (8-9).

How should the banaba supplement Glucofit™ be taken?

The recommended dose is one softgel of GlucofitTM every 12 or 24 hours, according to your therapist’s advice.

You may also be interested in other supplements related to glucose metabolism and appetite control:

• Berberine, a barberry supplement, promotesglucose metabolism as well as good cardiovascular health (10) ;
• the supplement Organic Moringa, containing a leaf extract of this age-old Ayurvedic plant, helps to break down glucose and maintain normal blood sugar levels (11) ;
• CSAT®, a natural carob extract, promotes a feeling of satiety and can thus help you achieve your weight loss goals (12).

Note: diabetes must be monitored by a health professional. Certain anti-diabetes plant extracts may interact with your conventional blood glucose-lowering medication so be sure to consult your doctor before starting any supplementation.

1. Verkouter I, Noordam R, le Cessie S, et al. The Association between Adult Weight Gain and Insulin Resistance at Middle Age: Mediation by Visceral Fat and Liver Fat. J Clin Med. 2019;8(10):1559. Published 2019 Sep 28. doi:10.3390/jcm8101559
2. Aragno M, Mastrocola R. Dietary Sugars and Endogenous Formation of Advanced Glycation Endproducts: Emerging Mechanisms of Disease. Nutrients. 2017;9(4):385. Published 2017 Apr 14. doi:10.3390/nu9040385
3. Stohs SJ, Miller H, Kaats GR. A review of the efficacy and safety of banaba (Lagerstroemia speciosa L.) and corosolic acid. Phytother Res. 2012 Mar;26(3):317-24. doi: 10.1002/ptr.3664. Epub 2011 Nov 17. PMID: 22095937.
4. Miura T, Takagi S, Ishida T. Management of Diabetes and Its Complications with Banaba (Lagerstroemia speciosa L.) and Corosolic Acid. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2012;2012:871495. doi:10.1155/2012/871495
5. Suzuki Y, Unno T, Ushitani M, Hayashi K, Kakuda T. Antiobesity activity of extracts from Lagerstroemia speciosa L. leaves on female KK-Ay mice. J Nutr Sci Vitaminol (Tokyo). 1999 Dec;45(6):791-5. doi: 10.3177/jnsv.45.791. PMID: 10737232.
6. Goodwin ML. Régulation de la glycémie pendant un exercice prolongé, sous-maximal et continu : un guide pour les cliniciens. J Diabetes Sci Technol . 2010;4(3):694-705. Publié le 1er mai 2010. doi:10.1177/193229681000400325
7. Bhupathiraju SN, Tobias DK, Malik VS, et al. Glycemic index, glycemic load, and risk of type 2 diabetes: results from 3 large US cohorts and an updated meta-analysis. Am J Clin Nutr. 2014;100(1):218-232. doi:10.3945/ajcn.113.079533
8. Whitworth SR, Bruce DG, Starkstein SE, Davis WA, Davis TM, Bucks RS. Lifetime depression and anxiety increase prevalent psychological symptoms and worsen glycemic control in type 2 diabetes: The Fremantle Diabetes Study Phase II. Diabetes Res Clin Pract. 2016 Dec;122:190-197. doi: 10.1016/j.diabres.2016.10.023. Epub 2016 Nov 9. PMID: 27865961.
9. Zhu L, Chandran SR, Tan WB, Xin X, Goh SY, Gardner DS. Persistent Anxiety Is Associated with Higher Glycemia Post-Transition to Adult Services in Asian Young Adults with Diabetes. Diabetes Metab J. 2021;45(1):67-76. doi:10.4093/dmj.2019.0226
10. Feng X, Sureda A, Jafari S, et al. Berberine in Cardiovascular and Metabolic Diseases: From Mechanisms to Therapeutics. Theranostics. 2019;9(7):1923-1951. Published 2019 Mar 16. doi:10.7150/thno.30787
11. Vergara-Jimenez M, Almatrafi MM, Fernandez ML. Bioactive Components in Moringa Oleifera Leaves Protect against Chronic Disease. Antioxidants (Basel). 2017;6(4):91. Published 2017 Nov 16. doi:10.3390/antiox6040091
12. Zhu BJ, Zayed MZ, Zhu HX, Zhao J, Li SP. Functional polysaccharides of carob fruit: a review. Chin Med. 2019;14:40. Published 2019 Sep 30. doi:10.1186/s13020-019-0261-x