Raffia palm wine benefits for diabetic men

Professor Shahidul Islam of the University of KwaZulu-Natal’s (UKZN) School of Life Sciences, together with postgraduate students Ms Rebecca Reddy and Dr Ochuko Erukainure of the Federal Institute of Industrial Research Oshodi (FIIRO) in Nigeria, have collaborated on research revealing that the consumption of raffia palm wine could guard against complications stemming from type 2 diabetes which affect male sexual organs.

The research, published in the Journal of Food Biochemistry, indicates that a common complication of type 2 diabetes among men is testicular damage, which if left untreated can result in low libido, erectile dysfunction and eventually infertility.

Diabetes Mellitus is one of the fastest-growing global epidemics, with many developing countries paying a high price for treatment of the disease.

Raffia palm wine, known as ‘Oguro’ and ‘Ngwo’ in the Nigerian Yoruba and Igbo languages respectively, is a natural beverage commonly consumed in West Africa and some parts of Asia, which has medicinal as well as social uses.

It has been used in folkloric medicinal plant treatments for several ailments, including measles and to boost libido and breast milk production.

However, its effect on diabetes‐associated oxidative testicular injury had not previously been investigated.

The trio’s research, undertaken in Islam’s laboratory at UKZN and at the FIIRO during the course of Erukainure’s PhD research, involved administering palm wine and distilled water to two groups of diabetic rats under the strict guidelines and approval of UKZN’s Animal Ethics Committee.

The results showed that treatment with raffia palm wine resulted in lower blood glucose levels and less evidence of oxidative stress on testicular tissue.

They concluded that raffia palm wine has therapeutic potential to protect against erectile dysfunction or impotence in men with type 2 diabetes, giving credence to its use in folkloric medicine.

According to the researchers, this study will also improve the medicinal use of this wine, which may also indirectly improve its commercial benefit.

Researchers cautioned, however, that excessive consumption of the alcoholic beverage could be detrimental and that its effect on healthy tissue is unknown at this stage.