Abstract
Introduction: The best oral medication for type II diabetes mellitus (T2DM), metformin, and other T2DM medications have noticeable side effects. However, herbal medications are potential emerging treatments. Thus, this clinical study evaluated the efficacy of a combination of Cinnamomum zeylanicum, Tribulus terrestris, Silybum marianum, and Trigonella foenum-graecum in treating T2DM.
Methods: This randomized clinical trial was performed on 50 T2DM patients with hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c)≥6.5% and fasting blood sugar (FBS)≥126 mg/dL who only used metformin as T2DM medication in Imam-Reza Hospital, Mashhad, Iran, in 2017. They were randomly divided into intervention (n=25) and control (n=25) groups. Sealed envelopes were used to blind patients and researchers. Patients were requested to take one capsule twice a day before lunch and dinner for a period of two months. Then, serum HbA1c, FBS, total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein (LDL), high-density lipoprotein (HDL), triglyceride (TG), aspartate transaminase (AST), alanine transaminase (ALT), blood urea nitrogen (BUN), and creatinine were examined at the beginning of the study and two months later.
Results: Seven subjects in the control group were lost during the follow-up. Eventually, 43 patients were evaluated. Twenty-five (58.10%) participants were women, and the mean age of the study population was 57.56±10.51 years old. In the intervention group, FBS was 175.04±34.42 mg/dL before treatment and reached 138.40±26.17 mg/dL after two months (P=0.00). Similarly, HbA1c, cholesterol, LDL, TG, AST, ALT, and BUN were significantly decreased after the intervention, while HDL increased (P=0.00). Creatinine, however, demonstrated no significant change. None of the other measured parameters showed a significant difference in the control group after two months (P>0.05).
Conclusion: The suggested herbs could successfully control the glycemic and lipid profiles of T2DM.