Research paper
Efficacy of Pomegranate Seed Powder on Glucose and Lipid Metabolism in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes: A Prospective Randomized Double-Blind Placebo-Controlled Clinical Trial
Study answer
What this study found
Pomegranate seed powder improved glycemic outcomes over 8 weeks, with significantly lower post-intervention fasting blood glucose and HbA1c versus placebo. Post-intervention FBG was 135.83±35.92 mg/dL in the PSP group versus 158.84±39.04 mg/dL in placebo (p=0.02), and HbA1c was 6.94±0.77 versus 7.53±0.98 (p=0.01). Effects on triglycerides and total cholesterol were not significant (TG p=0.26; cholesterol p=0.51). The authors concluded PSP may be a useful complementary treatment for patients with type 2 diabetes, but larger and longer studies are needed.
- Study & population
- Prospective randomized double-blind placebo-controlled trial in adults with type 2 diabetes mellitus treated with oral hypoglycemic agents and not insulin, conducted at the Diabetes Research Center of Yazd, Iran.
- Intervention
- Pomegranate seed powder (PSP) was given as 5 g per dose in tea bags, taken orally twice daily for 8 weeks, once in the morning on an empty stomach and once at night before bedtime.
- Key limitation
- This was a small single-center study with only 30 participants analyzed per arm and an 8-week follow-up, which limits confidence in durability and generalizability.
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Open PDFOriginal abstract
Introduction: Pomegranate is known as a functional food which has multiple health-promoting activities. It has been assessed for patients with metabolic syndrome. Specifically, an antidiabetic activity of its juice and plausible mechanisms for its ac…