While smoking tobacco has been associated with a myriad of health issues leading some users to try and quit with herbal supplements, researchers from the University of Verona think they may be able to use it to produce a protein with anti-inflammatory properties.

Current production of interleukin-10, the protein which may treat type 1 diabetes, requires lengthy extraction and purification, but the scientists used tobacco plants as "incubators" for the protein.

The resulting tobacco leaves contained levels of IL-10 that may allow them to avoid the purification process, because "they can be eaten, which delivers the drug where it is needed," said researcher Mario Pezzoti.

The next step for researchers is to test the plant-based treatment on mice to see if the effects are similar.

Another alternative to standard diabetes treatments may be a garlic tablet. A study from the Suzuka University of Medical Science in Japan found that an herbal supplement with garlic reduced glucose levels of mice with type 1 diabetes, and may soon be tested on humans with both type 1 and type 2 diabetes.