SCIENCE ALERT: French maritime pine bark extract: a clinical trial in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (Complementary Therapies in Medicine)

Editor's Note

Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is a major public health concern globally. Many patients develop diabetes-related abnormalities including hyperglycemia, oxidative stress, advanced glycation end products (AGEs), and cytokine production, as well as inflammation, which are associated with endothelial dysfunction (ED). ED in diabetes contributes to vascular diseases including atherosclerosis, retinopathy, and nephropathy. Albuminuria is the first stage of diabetic nephropathy; microalbuminuria is defined as excretion of albumin or a urinary albumin-to-creatinine ratio (UACR) beyond limits on a random urine sample. Microalbuminuria is considered an important risk factor for cardiovascular abnormalities and mortality in patients with T2DM.

This study investigated whether pine bark extract (PBE) supplementation could have beneficial metabolic effects in T2DM patients with microalbuminuria. Fasting blood sugar (FBS), HbA1c, serum insulin, and vascular cell adhesion molecule (VCAM-1) levels, as well as the UACR, were the primary outcomes of the study. Results showed PBE significantly reduced serum HbA1c, TC, and VCAM-1 levels, UACR, and WC compared to the placebo group. Serum FBS levels also decreased in the PBE group, however, this reduction was not significant. PBE has been previously researched and used in several clinical conditions; there is a growing body of evidence that suggests PBE supplementation has some potentially beneficial metabolic properties such as anti-diabetic and hypoglycemic effects.

The present study indicated that daily supplementation with 100 mg of PBE in patients with T2DM and microalbuminuria had favorable effects which could be helpful in the control of diabetes complications.

May 2021

Complementary Therapies in Medicine

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ctim.2021.102689

Effect of French maritime pine bark extract supplementation on metabolic status and serum vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 levels in patients with type 2 diabetes and microalbuminuria

Abstract

Objectives

This study investigated the effect of French maritime pine bark extract (PBE) supplementation on metabolic parameters, vascular cell adhesion molecule 1 (VCAM-1), urinary albumin-to-creatinine ratio (UACR), and anthropometric indexes in patients with type 2 diabetes (T2DM) and microalbuminuria.

Design

This randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial was conducted on 46 patients with T2DM and the evidence of microalbuminuria aged 30–65 years.

Setting

Patients were recruited from the endocrinology clinic of Sina hospital (Tabriz, Iran) from March 2018 to April 2019.

Interventions

The subjects were randomly assigned to receive two capsules/day each containing 50mg of PBE or placebo for eight weeks.

Main outcome measures

Glycemic parameters, serum VCAM-1 and lipid profile, UACR, and anthropometric indexes were measured for all patients at baseline and the end of the study.

Results

PBE supplementation significantly reduced glycosylated hemoglobin, VCAM-1, total cholesterol, UACR, waist circumference, and waist-to-height ratio compared to the placebo group at the end of the study (all P < 0.05). Changes in fasting blood glucose, insulin, triglyceride, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol were not significant between the two groups (all P > 0.05).

Conclusions

The study findings demonstrated some favorable effects of PBE supplementation on glycemic control, serum VCAM-1 and total cholesterol levels, and microalbuminuria, as well as abdominal obesity in patients with T2DM.