Brazilian Green Propolis Improves Antioxidant Function in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus

Abstract

Propolis contains a variety of bioactive components and possesses many biological properties. This study was designed to evaluate potential effects of Brazilian green propolis on glucose metabolism and antioxidant function in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). In the 18-week randomized controlled study, enrolled patients with T2DM were randomly assigned to Brazilian green propolis group (900 mg/day) (n = 32) and control group (n = 33). At the end of the study, no significant difference was found in serum glucose, glycosylated hemoglobin, insulin, aldose reductase or adiponectin between the two groups. However, serum GSH and total polyphenols were significantly increased, and serum carbonyls and lactate dehydrogenase activity were significantly reduced in the Brazilian green propolis group. Serum TNF-α was significantly decreased, whereas serum IL-1β and IL-6 were significantly increased in the Brazilian green propolis group. It is concluded that Brazilian green propolis is effective in improving antioxidant function in T2DM patients.

The efficacy of propolis on markers of glycemic control in adults with type 2 diabetes mellitus: A systematic review and meta‐analysis

“…In almost all studies, both genders were enrolled as participants, and mean body mass index was nearly 26.5 kg/m 2 . FPG and HbA1C were reported in all RTCs (Afsharpour et al, ; El‐Sharkawy et al, ; Fukuda et al, ; Gao et al, ; Samadi et al, ; Zhao et al, ), and fasting insulin was presented in five studies (Afsharpour et al, ; Fukuda et al, ; Gao et al, ; Samadi et al, ; Zhao et al, ). Four RTCs (Fukuda et al, ; Gao et al, ; Samadi et al, ; Zhao et al, ) addressed baseline pharmacotherapy application among subjects, while the two remaining studies (Afsharpour et al, ; El‐Sharkawy et al, ) did not report participant medication.…”

“…Table 2 presented information about the basic characteristics of the included studies. Briefly, six RCTs (Afsharpour et al, 2017;El-Sharkawy, Anees, & Van Dyke, 2016;Fukuda et al, 2015;Gao et al, 2018;Samadi et al, 2017;Zhao et al, 2016) comprising 373 subjects were included in the systematic review and meta-analysis. Studies were conducted in Japan (Fukuda et al, 2015), China (Gao et al, 2018;Zhao et al, 2016), Iran (Afsharpour et al, 2017;Samadi et al, 2017), and Egypt (El-Sharkawy et al, 2016).…”

“…The mean age of participants was nearly 57. In almost all studies, both genders were enrolled as participants, and mean body mass index was nearly (Afsharpour et al, 2017;El-Sharkawy et al, 2016;Fukuda et al, 2015;Gao et al, 2018;Samadi et al, 2017;Zhao et al, 2016), and fasting insulin was presented in five studies (Afsharpour et al, 2017;Fukuda et al, 2015;Gao et al, 2018;Samadi et al, 2017;Zhao et al, 2016). Four…”

“…Besides the efficacy of propolis on glycemic‐related markers of T2DM, studies showed that propolis could be beneficial in ameliorating other metabolic parameters known to be associated with T2DM. Human studies have shown that propolis could ameliorate serum levels of C‐reactive protein (El‐Sharkawy et al, ) and tumor necrosis factor (TNF‐α; El‐Sharkawy et al, ; Zhao et al, ) and enhance insulin in plasma concentration of total polyphenols (Gao et al, ; Zhao et al, ), total flavonoids (Gao et al, ), and glutathione (Gao et al, ; Zhao et al, ), all of which indicated other potential properties of propolis, such as antiinflammatory and antioxidant activities. Animal studies have elucidated that propolis can normalize neutrophil infiltration, as well as inhibit inflammation and improve diabetic wound healing (McLennan et al, ).…”

“…Additionally, positive effects have been reported in people suffering from T2DM in certain trials (Afsharpour, Hashemipour, Khadem-Haghighian, & Koushan, 2017;Samadi, Mozaffari-Khosravi, Rahmanian, & Askarishahi, 2017). However, other trials did not find any significant effect of propolis on T2DM treatment (Fukuda et al, 2015;Gao et al, 2018;Zhao et al, 2016), and findings regarding the efficacy of propolis on fasting plasma glucose (FPG), fasting insulin, and hemoglobin A1C (HbA1C) have remained inconclusive.…”