Effects of Ginger (Zingiber officinale Roscoe) on Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus and Components of the Metabolic Syndrome: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials
What this study found
Ginger was associated with improvements in glycemic control, insulin resistance, and lipids, with no significant change in BMI. Pooled HbA1c decreased by MD -1.00 (95% CI -1.56, -0.44; P < 0.001), fasting insulin by -1.62 μIU/mL (95% CI -2.20, -1.05; P < 0.001), and HOMA-IR by -0.59 (95% CI -1.01, -0.17; P < 0.01). Fasting blood glucose improved in T2DM (MD -21.24; 95% CI -33.21, -9.26; P < 0.001) and CAPD participants (MD -46.80; 95% CI -87.00, -6.60; P < 0.05), but not in obese participants (MD -1.72; 95% CI -6.83, 3.38; P = 0.51). Lipids also improved: TG MD -24.80, total cholesterol MD…
- Study & population
- Systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.
- Intervention
- Oral ginger was evaluated across randomized trials as capsules or tablets at 1 g/day, 2 g/day, or 3 g/day for 6 to 12 weeks.
- Key limitation
- The evidence base was small, with only 12 trials and 490 participants overall, and many studies had short durations of 6 to 12 weeks.
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Open PDFOriginal abstract
Objective This article aims to assess the effects of ginger (Zingiber officinale Roscoe) on type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and/or components of the metabolic syndrome (MetS). Methods Electronic literature was searched in PubMed, Embase, the Cochrane Library, Chinese Biomedical Database, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, and Wanfang Database from inception of the database to May 19, 2017, and supplemented by browsing reference lists of potentially eligible articles. Randomized controlled trials on research subjects were included. Data were extracted as a mean difference (MD) and 95% confidence interval (CI). Subgroup analysis of fasting blood glucose (FBG) was performed. Results 10 studies met the inclusion criteria with a total of 490 individuals. Ginger showed a significant beneficial effect in glucose control and insulin sensitivity. The pooled weighted MD of glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c) was −1.00, (95% CI: −1.56, −0.44; P < 0.001). Subgroup analysis revealed that ginger obviously reduced FBG in T2DM patients (−21.24; 95% CI: −33.21, −9.26; P < 0.001). Meanwhile, the significant effects of improvement of lipid profile were observed. Most analyses were not statistically heterogeneous. Conclusion Based on the negligible side effects and obvious ameliorative effects on glucose control, insulin sensitivity, and lipid profile, ginger may be a promising adjuvant therapy for T2DM and MetS.