CASP3 and diabetic kidney disease: Several studies have reported the proteinuria-lowering effects of A. manihot. Oral administration of TEA (200 mg/kg per day) for 24 weeks inhibited the overexpression of caspases 3 and 8, and ameliorated urinary albumin excretion, glomerular hyperfiltration, and podocyte apoptosis at an early stage in a diabetic nephropathy rat model (Zhou et al., 2012).