Punica granatum Juice as an Oral Supplemental Therapeutic: Effect on Hemoglobin and Blood Glucose Levels among Diabetic Patients

Abstract

Background: Type II Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM) is one of the most common metabolic disorders and it is often associated with complications like hyper-lipidemia, anemia, cardiovascular and inflammatory disorders. The present study was conducted to evaluate the effect of consumption of Punica granatum (pomegranate) juice (PJ) on Fasting Blood Glucose (FBG) and haemoglobin concentration in patients with T2DM. Materials and Methods: The study was conducted for a period of 60 days. Twenty patients with T2DM on metformin therapy were divided into two groups. Test group with ten patients received supplementation with PJ and control group with ten patients received water with food colour similar to PJ. All patients continued with metformin treatment during the study period. FBG and haemoglobin concentration analysis was done for both groups on days 0, 30, 53 and 60. Results and Discussion: The test group showed a higher degree of reduction in FBG and increase in haemoglobin concentration when compared to control group. FBG levels also showed a significant (p<0.05) decrease over the duration of the study i.e., from days 0 to 30. Similar observations were seen on days 53 and 60 as a results of the residual effect of PJ. Conclusion: The present study showed that PJ supplementation had a definite improvement in reducing FBG levels and increase in haemoglobin concentration among T2DM patients on metformin treatment.