Diabetic nephropathy is one of the most serious
complications related to diabetes, often leading to end-stage kidney disease.
Purple corn grown in Peru and Chile is a relative of blue corn, which is
readily available in the U.S. The maize is rich in anthocyanins (also known as
flavonoids), which are reported to have anti-diabetic properties. Scientists
from the Department of Food and Nutrition and Department of Biochemistry at
Hallym University in 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). Their findings suggest 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.