Study: Urtica promotes women with diabetes

This article is part of the special edition of women's health in 2017. Read the full edition or download it here.

reference

Amiri Behzadi A, Kalalian-Moghaddam H, Ahmadi ah. Effects of the nutritional supplement with Urtica Dioica on blood fats, liver enzymes and nitrogen oxide levels in patients with type 2 diabetes: a double-blind, randomized clinical study. Avicenna J Phytomed . 2016; 6 (6): 686-695.

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an 8-week randomized placebo-controlled intervention study

participant

First, 50 older women with type 2 diabetes mellitus were included in the study; 48 completed the study, 24 of them in each group. The average age was 62 years in the intervention group and 60 years in the control group. The middle body mass index (BMI) was between 23 and 24 kg/m 2 for the 2 groups. The mean time since the diagnosis was about 13 years.

medication and dosage study

The patients received either 5 ml of an alcoholic extract from dried air parts urtica dioica (nettles) or placebo 3 times a day after meals. The extract contained 45 % ethanol and 55 % water with 2.7 grams of dry substance in 1 liter of extract.

target parameter

sober glucose, triglyceride, mirror of high density lipoprotein (HDL), low density lipoprotein (LDL), serum glutamate pyruvat-transaminase (SGPT), glutamine acid-oxalaceta-congreginase (SGOT), nitrogen monoxide (NO) and and Superoxiddismmutase (sod)

important knowledge

After 8 weeks of intervention, the sober plas maglucose, triglyzeride and SGPT levels decreased significantly in the treatment group. The HDL, NO and SOD levels rose significantly compared to the control group.

practice implications

This study reminds us that some of the simplest strengthening herbs can still be useful in the treatment of women with diabetes. Although we are all familiar with Urtica, I suspect that many of us forget to recommend patients with diabetes. Urtica has a long and broad history of use in traditional medicine for the treatment of diabetes. ^{1 We should probably use it more often.}

published research reports report consistent advantages of Urtica for type 2 diabetes in both animal models and in studies on humans.

urtica works in a variety of ways to lower blood sugar. Some studies indicate that it reduces blood sugar by increasing insulin secretion from the pancreas. ^{2 apparently does this by protecting the beta cells in the Langerhans islands or alternatively increasing their number. Slows the digestion of carbohydrates. This is an effect that Urtica has in common with several other herbs, including Taraxacum Officinal , viscum-album and myrtus communis .}

according to Namazi et al. Urtica also increases insulin sensitivity. In an 8-week randomized, controlled study with 50 patients with type 2 diabetes, they reported on significant differences in interleukin (IL) -6, tumor necrosis factor (TNF) alpha, highly sensitive C-reactive protein (HS-CRP), and sober insulin in patients who administered primitive doses of 100 mg/kg per day was.

urtica has a long and broad history of use in traditional medicine for the treatment of diabetes.

in a clinical study published in 2013, Kianbakht et al. About the benefits in the treatment of people with insulin-dependent advanced type 2 diabetes with 1,500 mg urtica per day in divided doses over 3 months (n = 46). They reported a significant improvement in the sober glucose mirror, the postprandial 2-hour glucose mirror and the hemoglobin a _{1c (HBA 1c )-Mirror compared to placebo.}

This new study by Behzadi et al. examined the cholesterol level and measurements of the liver function, from which they hoped that they would be improved by the Urtica treatment. In rats, urtica extracts reduced the 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-coenzyme A (HMG-CoA) reductase activity and reduced LDL. Rather, the opposite occurred. In this current study, Urtica was associated with a decrease in the SGPT, which indicates that its application could protect the liver. The NO GUMMENTIONS observed in this study are viewed as a positive improvement. Typically, the NO mirrors take off for type 2 diabetes, a change associated with complications of the disease.

An essential disadvantage of this current study is that the authors do not report changes in the HBA 1C mirror in the study participants after the intervention. The concentrations were measured at the beginning, but not in the follow -up examination. One could assume that this test was left out due to the relatively short duration of the process, but it would have been appropriate and the loss is noticeable.