Insulin combined with Chinese medicine improves glycemic outcome through multiple pathways in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus

Abstract

Introduction/AimsInsufficient insulin secretion or inefficient insulin response are responsible for the clinical outcome of type 2 diabetes mellitus. Administration of insulin alone is prone to cause secondary effects, resulting in an unsatisfactory outcome. Shen-Qi-Formula (SQF), a well-known Chinese medicinal formula, has been used for diabetic treatment for a long time. The present study was designed to investigate whether SQF in combination with insulin improved the clinical outcome of type 2 diabetes mellitus, and what mechanisms were possibly involved in the treatment.Materials and MethodsA total of 219 patients were included in the study. Of these, 110 patients were treated with insulin monotherapy, and 109 with the combination therapy of SQF and insulin. Before and after 12-week treatment, the fasting blood glucose, postprandial blood glucose, β-cell function, insulin resistance and blood lipids were measured.ResultsThe 12 weeks of SQF treatment in combination with insulin significantly decreased the fasting and postprandial blood glucose levels. Insulin secretion was not increased after the treatment, but β-cell function and insulin resistance were obviously improved. Furthermore, 12 weeks of treatment with SQF and insulin improved the levels of glucagon-like peptide-1, oxidative stress, blood lipids, coagulation function and bodyweight.ConclusionThe results from our study showed that the combination therapy of SQF and insulin significantly improved the clinical outcome of type 2 diabetes mellitus compared with insulin monotherapy. The mechanism of improvement was possibly involved in the multiple pathways.

Anti-Diabetic Effects of Jiang Tang Xiao Ke Granule via PI3K/Akt Signalling Pathway in Type 2 Diabetes KKAy Mice

“…Therefore, there is a need for new drugs for T2DM prevention and treatment. Currently, multiple approaches have been applied and attempted, among which traditional Chinese medicine has played an inevitable role and achieved satisfactory results [15, 16]. Jiangtang Xiaoke (JTXK) granule is one of a series of Chinese prescriptions invented by Dr. Sihua Gao, under the guidance of the study of “kidney, liver and spleen in the dialectical treatment of T2DM”.…”

Efficacy of Chinese herbal medicine for stroke modifiable risk factors: a systematic review

“…Also, after treatment, ‘CHM, biomedicine plus lifestyle’ interventions were found to achieve a more significant decrease of FPG, HbA1c, or hypoglycemia when compared to either ‘biomedicine plus lifestyle’ intervention [ 31 , 37 ] or ‘placebo, biomedicine plus lifestyle’ intervention [ 36 , 38 ]. Of the nine diabetes-focused RCTs providing CHM formulas, Huanglian (黄连) was the most common Chinese herb [ 30 , 32 – 34 , 36 ], followed by Ginseng (人参) [ 33 , 34 , 36 , 37 ], Shanzhuyu (山茱萸) [ 34 , 36 , 37 ], Dahuang (大黄) [ 32 , 34 , 37 ], and Huangqi (黄芪) [ 30 , 34 , 37 ]. The CHM interventions examined in three out of five diabetes-focused RCTs, showing significant between-group effectiveness on the decrease of glucose level, indicated that the combination of these five commonly used Chinese herbs played a vital role for the efficacy of type 2 diabetes management [ 34 , 36 , 37 ].…”

“…Of the nine diabetes-focused RCTs providing CHM formulas, Huanglian (黄连) was the most common Chinese herb [ 30 , 32 – 34 , 36 ], followed by Ginseng (人参) [ 33 , 34 , 36 , 37 ], Shanzhuyu (山茱萸) [ 34 , 36 , 37 ], Dahuang (大黄) [ 32 , 34 , 37 ], and Huangqi (黄芪) [ 30 , 34 , 37 ]. The CHM interventions examined in three out of five diabetes-focused RCTs, showing significant between-group effectiveness on the decrease of glucose level, indicated that the combination of these five commonly used Chinese herbs played a vital role for the efficacy of type 2 diabetes management [ 34 , 36 , 37 ]. All diabetes-focused RCTs defined inclusion criteria of diabetes based on different FPG, 2hPG, and/or HbA1c levels, and all the tested CHM products used in these RCTs were different.…”

“…Six diabetes-focused RCTs have specified their study limitations, with a short study period being the most common issue, followed by small sample size and no/short follow-up period [ 32 , 33 , 35 , 36 , 38 , 39 ]. As for risk of bias of the diabetes-focused RCTs, one trial failed to use the random sequence generation method [ 34 ], three trials did not report information on allocation concealment [ 32 , 34 , 35 ], four trials failed to apply a double-blinding method [ 31 , 33 , 34 , 37 ], and four trials did not provide details on the blinding outcome assessment [ 33 – 35 , 37 ].…”

Antidiabetic effect of total saponins from Polygonatum kingianum in streptozotocin-induced daibetic rats

“…The antihyperglycemic effects of several plant extracts and herbal prescriptions, which are used as antidiabetic formulations, have been confirmed Sun et al, 2015;Wang et al, 2012;Xiao et al, 2012;Xie et al, 2011;Zhang et al, 2015). Polygonati Rhizoma, first P. kingianum is widely reported and used as adjuvant therapy drug of diabetes in favor of its blood glucose level lowing effects ( Chen et al, 2001;Deng et al, 2012;Kato and Miura, 1994;Roh et al, 2008;).…”