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

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. In the PSP group, 33 participants were randomized and 30 were analyzed/completed; in the placebo group, 32 were randomized and 30 were analyzed/completed.

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. The control arm received HWPEG placebo under the same double-blind trial conditions.

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.

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. Lipid outcomes were inconclusive, dietary monitoring was limited, and no adverse events were reported, so longer safety evaluation is still needed.