Efficacy of inulin supplementation in improving insulin control, HbA1c and HOMA-IR in patients with type 2 diabetes: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.
What this study found
Overall, inulin supplementation improved glycemic markers in adults with type 2 diabetes, with significant benefits for fasting plasma glucose, HbA1c, and HOMA-IR. The effect on insulin control was not significant overall, although subgroup analyses suggested greater benefit when treatment lasted 8 weeks or longer. Reported adverse effects were generally not significantly different from control, and one trial noted dizziness, insomnia/sleepiness, gastrectasia, and constipation. The authors concluded that inulin appears beneficial for glycemic control, but better-quality larger trials are…
- Study & population
- Systematic review and meta-analysis of 9 randomized controlled trials including 661 adults with type 2 diabetes mellitus.
- Intervention
- Inulin supplementation was evaluated across 9 randomized controlled trials in adults with type 2 diabetes, with most regimens delivering about 8.4 to 10 g/day orally for 6 to 12 weeks.
- Key limitation
- The evidence base was small, with only 9 trials and 661 total participants, and most studies were conducted in a single country.
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Open PDFOriginal abstract
Type 2 diabetes mellitus is a chronic disease that occurs among the general population. The insulin-lowering and homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance-improving effects of inulin are unconfirmed. We conducted this meta-analysis to examine the efficiency and safety of inulin for improving insulin control, homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance and HbA1c in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. We searched the Web of Science, PubMed, Embase and Cochrane Library databases for relevant articles published before June 1, 2019. In total, 225 randomized controlled trials regarding the efficiency of inulin for the treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus compared to the efficacy of placebo or other treatments were examined. According to the inclusion and exclusion criteria, 9 trials with a total of 661 participants were included. We concluded that inulin supplementation can significantly improve fasting plasma glucose (SMD = -0.55, 95% CI -0.73 to -0.36, p = 0), HOMA-IR (SMD = -0.81, 95% CI -1.59 to -0.03, p = 0.042) and HbA1c (SMD = -0.69, 95% CI -0.92 to -0.46, p = 0). Further subgroup analyses revealed a significant role of inulin supplementation for treatment durations ≥8 weeks (p = 0.038 for insulin, p = 0.002 for HOMA-IR, p = 0.032 for FPG, p = 0 for HbA1c).