The effect of ginger on blood sugar and urine protein in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus; a clinical trial

Abstract

Introduction: The prevalence of diabetes mellitus has been increasing exponentially and its complications are a major cause of morbidity and mortality. Ginger is one of the herbal remedies which has preventive effects on nephropathy in animal models in some studies. Objectives: We aimed to investigate the effect of ginger on urine protein analysis and blood glucose levels in diabetic patients. Patients and Methods: In a clinical trial, 98 patients with type 2 diabetes were randomly divided into two groups; the intervention group received 500 mg of Zingiber as capsule, daily in addition to routine therapies, since control group received only conventional treatments for diabetes. Before and after intervention, blood glucose, urine microalbumin and hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) were measured. Results: The findings showed that Zingiber decreased HbA1c levels in diabetic patients (P=0.006), however, it did not have a significant effect on fasting blood glucose (P=0.179), 2 hours post-prandial glucose levels (P= 0.272), and the microalbuminuria quantity in urine (P=0.109). Conclusion: In our study, the hypoglycemic short-term effects of ginger observed as a reduction of HbA1c, however its effect on reducing blood glucose levels [FBS and 2 hours postprandial glucose (2hpp)] was not significant, therefore ginger can be considered as a supplementary agent in the treatment of diabetes. However it is recommended to conduct more studies to obtain results with more reliability. Trial registration: The trial protocol was approved by the Iranian Registry of Clinical Trial (identifier: IRCT2017103025732N27; https://www.irct.ir/trial/21503, ethical code; IR.SEMUMS.REC.1395.207).