Plantenextract tegen diabetes.*

Extracten van de zaden van het kruid mariadistel, bekend als silymarin kunnen goed helpen bij diabetes-2 patiënten voor een betere glycemisch stabiliteit. Dit blijkt uit een dubbelblind onderzoek onder 51 diabetes patiënten. Vier maanden lang kregen zij dagelijks 3x 200 mg silymarin extract. Iedere maand werden verschillende bloedwaarden gemeten en na vier maanden bleken zij duidelijk lagere (nuchtere) suikerwaarden, duidelijk lagere geglycosyleerde hemoglobine waarden en duidelijk lagere cholesterol waarden te hebben. In deze studie werd alleen gekeken naar de resultaten en niet naar het hoe en waarom. Silymarin staat wel al lang bekend als sterke antioxidant die ook de lever beschermt tegen allerlei giften.

The efficacy of Silybum marianum (L.) Gaertn. (Silymarin) in the treatment of type II diabetes: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, clinical trial.

Diabetes is a growing health problem. Giving antioxidants is recognised as one way of helping people with diabetes to control their blood sugar levels.

The herbal medicine extracted from seeds of the Milk Thistle, Silybum marianum (silymarin) is known to have antioxidant properties and research published this week in Phytotherapy Research shows that this extract can help people significantly lower the amount of sugar bound to haemoglobin in blood, as well as reducing fasting blood sugar levels.

Silymarin contains a number of active constituents called flavolignans which are also used to help protect the liver from poisoning.

Oxidative stresses are increasingly implicated in the pathogenesis of diabetic complications which may either cause direct pancreatic B-cell damage or lead to metabolic abnormalities that can induce or aggravate diabetes. The valuable effect of antioxidant nutrients on the glycemic control of diabetic patients has been reported in experimental and clinical studies. The present study was designed to investigate the effects of the herbal medicine, Silybum marianum seed extract (silymarin), which is known to have antioxidant properties on the glycemic profile in diabetic patients. A 4-month randomized double-blind clinical trial was conducted in 51 type II diabetic patients in two well-matched groups. The first group (n = 25) received a silymarin (200 mg) tablet 3 times a day plus conventional therapy. The second group (n = 26) received the same therapy but a placebo tablet instead of silymarin. The patients were visited monthly and glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA₁c), fasting blood glucose (FBS), insulin, total cholesterol, LDL and HDL, triglyceride, SGOT and SGPT levels were determined at the beginning and the end of the study. The results showed a significant decrease in HbA₁c, FBS, total cholesterol, LDL, triglyceride SGOT and SGPT levels in silymarin treated patients compared with placebo as well as with values at the beginning of the study in each group. In conclusion, silymarin treatment in type II diabetic patients for 4 months has a beneficial effect on improving the glycemic profile.