Benefits of Purple corn

Compounds in purple corn can prevent diabetic nephropathy, one of the most serious complications related to diabetes, often leading to end-stage kidney disease, a new study has found.

Researchers from the Hallym Univeristy in south Korea investigated the cellular and molecular activity of purple corn anthocyanins (PCA) to determine whether and how, it affects the development of diabetic nephropathy(DN).

The Study found that PCA inhibits multiple pathways involved in the development of DN, which may help in developing therapies aimed at Type-2 diabetes and kidney disease.

Researcher performed a two part study, an in-vitro experiment investigating the effects of PCA on human endothelial cells cultured under hyperglycemic kidney conditions and another study that investigated the effects of PCA on kidney tissue in diabetics mice.

The study found that anthocyanins may be the main biofunctional compund in purple corn and could protect against diabetic nephropathy.