Question

Why is insulin not administered orally to a diabetic patient?
a. Insulin is bitter in taste
b. Insulin is peptide
c. Insulin will lead to a sudden decrease in blood sugar if given orally
d. Insulin leads to peptic ulcer if given orally

Answer 1

Hint: Insulin is a hormone secreted by the beta cells of the islets of the pancreas, where beta cells are stimulated by the high sugar levels in the blood and release insulin, which is helpful for the absorption of glucose from to the organs and skeletal muscle tissues.

Complete answer:
- Insulin is the peptide hormone, and it mainly consists of 51 amino acids.
- Pancreases of the human body have various cells, which are sensitive to blood glucose levels.
- Beta cells - secretes insulin whenever there are high sugar levels in the blood and insulin induces glucose absorption by various organs.
- Alpha cells - secretes glucagon whenever the blood glucose levels are very low, and this glucagon induces glycogen lysis and gluconeogenesis, and increases the blood sugar levels.
- The inability of the pancreas to secrete insulin, or any inability of the insulin to lower the blood sugar levels cause diabetes, Miletus.
- It is of two types Type 1 and types 2.
- The cause of Type 1 is the destruction of beta cells of the pancreas by an autoimmune reaction, whereas, in type 2 also there is destruction, but it is not much pronounced.
- So in type 1 mainly synthetic insulin is given to the patients, to lower hyperglycemia.
- This insulin should be given subcutaneously, but not given orally because insulin is made of peptides, if it is given orally, the peptides are digested by the digestive enzymes, and it may not show it’s action, so this is the reason insulin not administered orally.

Hence, the correct answer is option (B).

Note: Man-made insulin is also called as humulin, where it is synthesized by recombinant DNA technology, and this insulin is available in many forms, they are single-use syringe, insulin pumps, and for repetitive use, insulin pens are available and they mainly have to be given subcutaneously.