Resveratrol is a polyphenol and anti-fungal antioxidant most typically sourced from grapes and red wine.
The JSS University, India
57 participants with type 2 diabetes (T2DM) were given either oral hypoglycemic agents in the control group or resveratrol (250mg/day) and oral hypoglycemic agents in the intervention group over a period of six months.
“Our central findings are that oral supplementation of resveratrol along with antidiabetic agents is effective in improving vascular risk factors, namely body weight, oxidative stress and lipid profile in type 2 diabetic patients,” professor Moola Joghee Nanjan told NutraIngredients.
“The practical implications of these findings are that type 2 diabetic patients are known to be more sensitive to the deterioration in their quality of life because of the chronic disease, related complications, alternative treatment, diet restriction and lifelong treatment with tablets or insulin. Supplementation of resveratrol is expected to improve their quality of life."
Existing type 2 diabetes (T2DM) treatments limit their use because of side effects like weight gain, hypoglycaemia and contraindications. Furthermore, current anti-diabetic treatments do not have any significant impact on associated risk factors, claim the JSS University researchers.
“There is a need, therefore, for new therapies that may improve not only hyperglycaemic effect but also the associated problems,” the researchers wrote. “Resveratrol could, therefore, be used as an effective adjuvant therapy with conventional hyperglycemic regimen for the management of diabetes.”
The University of Medical Sciences, Iran
The objective of the Iranian study was to examine the effectiveness of resveratrol in lowering blood glucose in conjunction with standard anti-diabetic treatment of type 2 patients in a randomised, placebo-controlled, double-blinded parallel clinical trial.
The research involved 66 participants with T2DM randomly assigned to either an intervention resveratrol supplemented group (1 g/day for 45 days) or a control group which received placebo tablets.
“The central findings of the study was that supplementation of resveratrol (along with standard anti-diabetic medication) for a short term is beneficial in lowering blood glucose and insulin in patients with type 2 diabetes,” Dr Ali Movahed told NutraIngredients.
“If future trials also confirm the positive outcomes observed in our study, resveratrol could become an adjunct in diabetic medicine. “Newer treatments are required to complement and enhance the efficacy of existing diabetic regimen.”
The most recent epidemiological data from the International Diabetes Federation (IDF) showed that diabetes affects around 371m people globally, of which 4.8m die every year. This latter study noted that the Islamic Republic of Iran is one of the countries having the highest prevalence of T2DM. The study outlined also that developing countries will make up 77.6% of those affected by 2030.
Source: International Research Journal of Pharmacy
Vol. 2013, Iss. 4, pp. 245-249, doi: 10.7897/2230-8407.04849
“Resveratrol Supplementation in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus: A Prospective, Open Label, Randomized Controlled Trial”
Authors: B.J. Kumar, M.J. Nanjan
Source: Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine
Vol. 2013, doi:10.1155/2013/851267
“Antihyperglycemic Effects of Short Term Resveratrol Supplementation in Type 2 Diabetic Patients”
Authors: A. Movahed, I. Nabipour, X.L Louis, et al.