What is glucagon?

Glucagon is an important hormone that is produced by the pancreas and is basically involved in the metabolism of the carbohydrates. The hormone glucagon is released by the pancreas when there is drop in the blood glucose levels to an extreme low. Glucagon causes the liver to convert the stored glycogen in to glucose and release into the blood and raises the level of blood sugar, hence preventing the situation of hypoglycemia. 

Though the action of glucagon is opposite to that of insulin which takes the excess glucose from the blood, yet it stimulates the insulin release when the newly available glucose is needed by the insulin dependent tissues. Therefore it helps in controlling the blood sugar levels in the body.

Though glucagon is present in the natural form and is produced by the body itself, synthetic version of glucagon is also available and this is used in increasing blood sugar levels in cases of severe hypoglycemia. Thus glucagon drug can be termed as a glucose elevating drug. 

The working of glucagon is such that it prevents the liver from storing glucose and increases the formation of glucose in the liver from fats and proteins present in the diet. Again it increases the levels of release of glucose by the liver into the bloodstream. Therefore the importance of glucagon cannot be undermined as it is an important hormone needed for the maintenance of normal glucose levels in the blood.