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Abstract
With an estimated 500 million patients worldwide, Diabetes mellitus (DM) presents a major threat to human health. Largely attributed to genetics and lifestyle choices, Type II DM reduces insulin responses to elevations in blood glucose. Though current treatments for pre-diagnosed DM patients largely include drug prescriptions and restrictive diets, we believe a supplement to ease dietary constraints would be beneficial—particularly within the Japanese community. For our project, we designed a construct that will express a wheat albumin (0.19), which acts as an α-amylase inhibitor, thus hindering α-amylase’s ability to break starches into glucose. Specific amino acid substitutions were made in 0.19 to improve inhibitory activity. Our proposed delivery mechanism is through miso, a staple Japanese bean paste. With this supplement, patients will not be completely restricted from the traditionally high-carb Japanese diet—presenting a potential strategy for reducing carbohydrate-based dietary restrictions experienced by many pre-diagnosed type II DM patients.
