Effects of ellagic acid supplementation on glycemic index and insulin resistance in type 2 diabetics: A double blind randomized clinical trial

The beneficial effects of polyphenols to improve glycemic status in patients with type 2 diabetes have been reported in scientific studies. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of oral ellagic acid (EA) supplement on glycemic index and insulin resistance in type 2 diabetic patients.

In this double blind randomized clinical trial, 44 diabetic patients were selected, and were randomly assigned to the intervention group (22 subjects) and placebo (22 subjects) and received a capsule containing 180 mg of EA per day or placebo for 8 weeks, respectively. At the beginning and end of the study, demographic information, anthropometric indices, food intake and physical activity, biochemical factors of fasting and two-hour blood sugar, plasma insulin level, glycosylated hemoglobin percentage (HbA1c) and insulin resistance (IR) were measured.

At the beginning and end of the study, there was no significant difference between the two groups in terms of anthropometric indices, food intake and physical activity (P>0.05). At the end of the study, receiving EA in the intervention group significantly reduced fasting and two-hour blood sugar means, plasma insulin levels, HbA1c percentage, and IR levels compared with placebo group (P<0.05).

EA supplementation can be helpful as a dietary antioxidant supplement in patients with type 2 diabetes by improving chronic side effects. This may be due to the antioxidant power of this polyphenol.