The hypoglycemic effect of Juglans regia leaves aqueous extract in diabetic patients: A first human trial

Abstract

Background: Juglans regia L. (J. regia) is one of the medicinal plants traditionally used for treatment of diabetes in Iranian medicine. The effect of this plant has already been investigated on animal models; however, this is the first study conducted on human subjects. The aim of this study is to investigate the hypoglycemic effect of J. regia leaves aqueous extract in type 2 diabetes patients. Fifty eight Iranian male and female patients with type 2 diabetes were enrolled. The patients were randomly allocated into two groups. One group (n = 30) received J. regia leaves extract while the other group (n = 28) received placebo. Fasting blood samples were collected at the beginning of the study and after two months for determination of HbA1c and blood glucose level as a main outcome and insulin, SGOT, SGPT, and ALP level as secondary outcome. Results: Our analysis showed that serum fasting HbA1C and blood glucose levels were significantly decreased and the insulin level was increased in patients in the J. regia arm. Conclusions: The results indicate that J. regia aqueous extract favorably affects blood levels of glucose, insulin and HbA1C in type 2 diabetic patients. © 2014 Hosseini et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.