Antidiabetic Effects of Add-On Gynostemma pentaphyllum Extract Therapy with Sulfonylureas in Type 2 Diabetic Patients

الملخص EN

Aims.

To investigate the antidiabetic effect of the traditional Vietnamese herb Gynostemma pentaphyllum (GP) together with sulfonylurea (SU) in 25 drug-naïve type 2 diabetic patients.

Methods.

After 4-week treatment with gliclazide (SU), 30 mg daily, all patients were randomly assigned into 2 groups to add on GP extract or placebo extract, 6 g daily, during eight weeks.

Results.

After 4-week SU treatment, fasting plasma glucose (FPG) and HbA1C decreased significantly (P<0.001).

FPG was further reduced after add-on therapy with 2.9 ± 1.7 and 0.9 ± 0.6 mmol/L in the GP and placebo groups, respectively (P<0.001).

Therapy with GP extract also reduced 30- and 120-minute oral glucose tolerance test postload values.

HbA1C levels decreased approximately 2% units in the GP group compared to 0.7% unit in the placebo group (P<0.001).

Conclusion.

GP extract in addition to SU offers an alternative to addition of other oral medication to treat type 2 diabetic patients.