Italian researchers have made an advance in the study of lupin seeds to help diabetes, bolstering the notion that the yellow legume may help sufferers if added to their diet. The insulin-like properties of a protein in lupins have been known for some time.

But researchers in Milan say that, as well as controlling blood sugar levels, the conglutin gamma protein has a range of other beneficial effects. Working with molecular food scientists and nutritionists at Milan University, a team at Milan's prestigious San Raffaele Institute have found it also "contains active ingredients which can, potentially, normalise cholesterol levels," San Raffaele research unit chief Livio Luzi said. "Conglutamin gamma is also involved in the construction of certain proteins that transport glucose to the muscle, as well as regulating its energy metabolism," Luzi added.

The study, published in the journal Nutrition, Metabolism and Cardiovascular Diseases, found this could be especially useful in type II diabetes, which usually occurs in older people and is often related to poor diet and a sedentary lifestyle. For this reason, Luzi said, lupins could be processed to produce new dietary supplements for at-risk categories of people. Lupin beans or seeds were staple fare in Ancient Roman times and they are still eaten across the Mediterranean and in South America. They also often come as a pickled snack food, washed down with beer.