Dietary sorbose prevents and improves hyperglycemia in genetically diabetic mice.

The effect of dietary sorbose on the prevention (Experiment 1) and amelioration (Experiment 2) of diabetes was investigated in the genetically diabetic mouse [C57BL/KsJ (db/db)] for 6 wk. When sucrose (200 g/kg diet) in a control diet was replaced by sorbose, the blood glucose concentration was dramatically lower, but the serum insulin concentrations did not differ. When mice were fed the diets before the onset of diabetic symptoms, glucose excretion in urine was prevented in the mice fed the sorbose diet, but mice fed the control diet excreted glucose in the urine, and the concentration increased with age. When dietary treatment began after the development of diabetic symptoms, dietary sorbose greatly reduced the incidence of hyperglycemia and lowered urinary glucose excretion, compared with mice fed the sucrose-containing diet. These results suggest that dietary sorbose might be useful in patients with, or at risk of developing, noninsulin-dependent diabetes, both before and after exhibiting the syndrome.