RCT: Rutin flavonoid improves blood pressure and quality of life in type 2 diabetic patients
The three-month-long study found that those who received daily supplementation with the flavonoid showed significant reductions in blood pressure metrics, enhanced antioxidant enzyme levels, and improvements across several dimensions of QOL including emotional limitations, energy and freshness, mental health, social performance, and general health.
Significance
Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a rapidly growing global chronic disease stemming from pancreatic beta-cell dysfunction or insulin resistance, resulting in high blood sugar levels.
The prevalence of diabetes has quadrupled in the past three decades, with 90% of cases being T2DM.
Hyperglycemia and dyslipidemia contribute to tissue damage and complications in various organs, and according to the authors, managing not only hyperglycemia but also obesity, hypertension, and dyslipidemia is crucial.
Hyperglycemia and activation of the nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) pathway stimulate the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS), which lead to the induction of insulin resistance and subsequently reduce the activity of antioxidant enzymes including superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GPx), and catalase (CAT).
Oxidative stress exacerbates diabetes complications, notably affecting QOL.
It has previously been shown in diabetic patients, QOL was associated with factors such as hyperglycemia, diabetes duration, insulin therapy, sex, age, and complications of diabetes-induced oxidative stress.
According to previous studies, controlling oxidative stress and complications of diabetes can reportedly be effective in increasing the QOL of diabetic patients.
The authors of the study note: “Nutrition therapy and dietary supplements as adjunct therapy can play an important role in the management of diabetes, improving inflammation, and the QOL in patients with DM.”
Flavonoids like rutin can have potential therapeutic benefits, having been reported in previous studies for its antioxidant, anti-diabetic, anti-hypertensive, cardio-protective, and anti-inflammatory properties.
It has been shown to enhance antioxidant enzyme activity and have positive effects on blood pressure and QOL in diabetic patients, and one previous study showed that the use of rutin along with vitamin C played an important role in increasing the QOL of diabetic patients.
The new study aimed to determine the effects of rutin supplement on blood pressure markers, some serum antioxidant enzymes, and QOL in patients with T2DM compared with placebo.
The study
In the double-blind placebo-controlled study, 50 patients were randomly divided into intervention (n = 25) and control groups (n = 25) and were treated with 1 g of rutin or placebo for three months at the Endocrinology and Metabolism clinic of Golestan Hospital, Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences, Iran, between May 2021 and October 2021.
Each 1g rutin tablet contained 500 mg of pure rutin and 500 mg of other ingredients (glycerin, magnesium stearic, plant cellulose, di-calcium phosphate, microcrystalline cellulose, stearic acid, and silica).
At the baseline and end of the intervention, mean arterial pressure (MAP), heart rate (HR), pulse pressure (PP), systolic and diastolic blood pressure (SBP and DBP), serum levels of antioxidant enzymes, such as catalase (CAT), glutathione peroxidase (GPx), and superoxide dismutase (SOD) and quality of life (QOL) parameters, were evaluated.
Results showed that rutin consumption caused a significant reduction in SBP, DBP, PP, MAP, and HR, with a significant increase in SOD, CAT, and GPx and some QOL parameters (emotional limitations, energy and freshness, mental health, social performance, and general health) compared with baseline (p for all <0.05).
Additionally, the mean changes of emotional limitations, energy and freshness, mental health, and general health, and GPX and SOD were significantly higher in the rutin group compared with the placebo group.
The authors concluded: “It can be said that rutin may be a beneficial choice for patients with T2DM.
“However, to prove this claim, more clinical trial studies with larger intervention periods and large sample sizes are needed to generalise the finding to the general population.”
Journal: Frontiers in Nutrition
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnut.2023.1214420/full
“The effects of rutin supplement on blood pressure markers, some serum antioxidant enzymes, and quality of life in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus compared with placebo”
Authors: Hadi Bazyar, Ahmad Zare Javid, Akram Ahangarpour, Ferdows Zaman7 Seyed Ahmad Hosseini, Vida Zohoori, Vahideh Aghamohammadi, Shima Yazdanfar, and Mohammad Ghasemi Deh Cheshmeh.
