The CIHR Team in Aboriginal Antidiabetic Medicines: A Community-Based Collaborative Approach Uniting Healers and Biomedical Scientists to Validate Cree Traditional Medicine

Obesity and Type 2 diabetes are considered as global epidemics by the WHO. Aboriginal populations such as the Cree of Eeyou Istchee (James Bay area of northern Quebec) are particularly affected and suffer greater complications, in part because of the cultural inadequacy of modern pharmaceutical therapies. A multidisciplinary team was therefore put together to explore the antidiabetic potential of Boreal forest plants stemming from Cree Traditional Medicine (TM). The team is composed equally of scientists with expertise in botany, phytochemistry, nutrition, pharmacology, biochemistry, toxicology and clinical endocrinology as well as Cree Elders and members of various Cree health-related institutions, notably including the Cree Board of Health and Social Services of James Bay (CBHSSJB). A novel ethnobotanical approach based on diabetes symptoms was used to identify potential antidiabetic plants. A total of 17 species were characterized phytochemically and screened for primary and secondary antidiabetic activity, toxicological potential and mode of action using a comprehensive platform of bioassays. Most promising species were subjected to bioassay-guided fractionation to identify active principles. Bioavailibility as well as antihyperglycemic and anti-obesity efficacy are then confirmed using in vivo animal models of obesity, insulin resistance or diabetes. Clinical studies are also underway to document the safety and efficacy of selected species using a culturally-adapted, all-inclusive, observational protocol. Finally, our project represents a pilot study for the integration of Cree TM into diabetes care for the CBHSSJB. Funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research.