The Pennington Biomedical Research Center has received a $9.2 million federal grant renewal to continue its study of native plants and their use in the fight against diabetes, obesity and other chronic diseases.
The renewal marks the third five-year renewal of the grant by the National Institute of Health’s Office of Dietary Supplements and the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health to the Center for Research on Botanicals and Metabolic Syndrome, or BRC, which Pennington has created in collaboration with Rutgers University’s plant sciences team.
The BRC is one of five NIH-funded research centers and the only one that focuses on diabetes and obesity, according to a news release.
“Diabetes, obesity and metabolic syndrome are among the most prominent chronic diseases facing patients around the world. Louisiana often leads the nation in the percentage of citizens affected by one or more of these conditions. Our work through the BRC is looking at new and better ways to prevent and treat these chronic diseases and enhance care,” says William T. Cefalu, Pennington Biomedical executive director and the principal investigator for the BRC, in a prepared statement.
Much of the research for the next five years will focus on how natural plant products can help people in the fight against obesity and Type 2 diabetes.
