What Is Banaba?
Banaba is a medicinal plant that grows in the Philippines. Traditional uses include brewing tea from the leaves as a treatment for diabetes and hyperglycemia (elevated blood sugar). The hypoglycemic (blood sugar lowering) effect of Banaba leaf extract is similar to that of insulin – which induces glucose transport from the blood into body cells.
Banaba or Lagerstroemia speciosa is a species of crepe myrtle found in Asia. It has attractive oval shaped deciduous leaves and pink to purple flowers, and is cultivated as an ornamental in some regions with tropical climates. The plant is also cultivated for use in herbal medicines in Asia, and banaba products can be found on sale in health food and supplement stores in many regions of the world. In the Philippines, banaba has been used as a folk remedy for diabetes. Studies conducted on the plant seem to suggest that it has compounds which can be successfully used to manage blood sugar levels, with corsolic acid being pinpointed as a major ingredient. Like many herbal medications, banaba is tricky to study, because it contains many compounds and it is hard to isolate the one which is responsible for the effects of the plant. It is also difficult to control the dosage, because many factors can influence the concentration of compounds in the plant. Diabetics who are interested in using
