March 27, 2026
Montbretia, a striking orange flower that can be found across BC and a favourite for hummingbirds, contains a compound called montbretin A (MbA). Scientists have found that this compound can reduce how much sugar the body absorbs by slowing starch digestion, thereby improving glucose control.
But there’s a challenge.
The MbA compound is extremely rare. It is found only in the Montbretia plant – and then only in one part of the plant – in very low concentrations. And the Montbretia plant only grows once a year, for a very brief time. This means the Montbretia plant produces too little MbA to meet medical needs.
This is where innovation comes in.
Under a project funded by Genome BC, researchers Joerg Bohlmann, Lars Kruse and Michael Easson of the University of British Columbia’s Michael Smith Laboratories are working on new production systems for MbA using yeast and a different plant, Nicotiana benthamiana, which can be grown efficiently under controlled conditions.
This approach could make MbA reliably accessible, opening the door to new, more effective options for managing Type 2 diabetes. This would be a major advancement in type 2 diabetes treatment with a significant impact in British Columbia, where more than 800,000 people live with diabetes, about 90% of them with type 2 diabetes.
From an origin story rooted in local plant life to an evolving solution in diabetes care, this is a powerful example of how homegrown findings can drive global impact.
Read the project summary: https://www.genomebc.ca/projects/advancing-bioengineered-production-and-commercialization-of-the-novel-antidiabetic-compound-montbretin-a/
