Reduction of cardiovascular risk factors in subjects with type 2 diabetes by Pycnogenol supplementation

Zibadi, Sherma; Rohdewald, Peter J.; Park, Danna; Watson, Ronald Ross

doi:10.1016/j.nutres.2008.03.003

« Previous Next »Nutrition Research
Volume 28, Issue 5 , Pages 315-320, May 2008

Reduction of cardiovascular risk factors in subjects with type 2 diabetes by Pycnogenol supplementation

Sherma Zibadi
- Nutritional Sciences Department, The University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA
- Division of Health Promotion Sciences, Mel and Enid Zuckerman Arizona College of Public Health, The University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85724, USA
Peter J. Rohdewald
- Institute of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, University of Münster, Münster 48149, Germany
Danna Park
- Program in Integrative Medicine, Department of Medicine, The University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85724, USA
Ronald Ross Watson
- Nutritional Sciences Department, The University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA
- Sarver Heart Center, College of Medicine, The University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85724, USA
- Division of Health Promotion Sciences, Mel and Enid Zuckerman Arizona College of Public Health, The University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85724, USA
- Corresponding author. Health Promotion Sciences, PO Box 245155, The University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85724-5154, USA. Tel.: +1 520 626 2850; fax: +1 520 6268176.

Received 26 November 2007; received in revised form 29 February 2008; accepted 7 March 2008.

Abstract

Patients with type 2 diabetes are at considerable risk of excessive morbidity and mortality from cardiovascular disease (CVD). We investigated the clinical effectiveness of Pycnogenol, a flavonoid-rich dietary supplement, in reducing antihypertensive medication use and CVD risk factors in subjects with type 2 diabetes. Forty-eight individuals were enrolled in a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial with parallel-group design. Patients were diagnosed with both type 2 diabetes and mild to moderate hypertension and were undergoing treatment with angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors. Subjects were randomly assigned to receive either Pycnogenol pill (125 mg daily) or matched placebo for 12 weeks. According to the values of blood pressure (BP) measured at 2-week intervals, the pretrial ACE inhibitor dosage was left unchanged, reduced by 50%, or brought back to the pretrial dosage until a stable BP was obtained. Fasting plasma glucose, low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c), serum endothelin-1, and urinary albumin were evaluated monthly. Pycnogenol treatment achieved BP control in 58.3% of subjects at the end of the 12 weeks with 50% reduction in individual pretrial dose of ACE-inhibitors (P <.05). Plasma endothelin-1 decreased by 3.9 pg/mL in Pycnogenol-treated group vs 0.5 pg/mL increase in control group (P < .001). Mean HbA1c dropped by 0.8% in Pycnogenol-treated group (P < .05), whereas it decreased by 0.1% in control group. Fasting plasma glucose declined by 23.7 mg/dL in Pycnogenol-treated group vs 5.7 mg/dL in control group (P < .0001). Low-density lipoprotein cholesterol improved significantly in Pycnogenol-treated group, declining by 12.7 mg/dL (P < .001). A significant decrease in urinary albumin level was observed at week 8 compared with the control group (P < .05). However, this reduction was not significant at 12th week. After 12 weeks of supplementation, Pycnogenol resulted in improved diabetes control, lowered CVD risk factors, and reduced antihypertensive medicine use vs controls.

Keywords: Diabetes, Hypertension, Pycnogenol, Flavonoid, Antioxidant, Human

Abbreviations: CVD, cardiovascular disease, ACE inhibitors, angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors, HbA1c, glycosylated hemoglobin, LDL-C, low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol, BP, blood pressure, NO, nitric oxide