However, because the effect of antioxidants on the pathogenesis of diabetes and glycemic control is generally chronic in nature, the immediate glucose-lowering effect of a single dose of Jerusalem artichoke in the absence of a change in insulin secretion, as shown in this study, could be explained by an alpha-glucosidase inhibitory effect, rather than an antioxidant effect of the plant material. This evidence concerns the gene INS and diabetes mellitus.