Improvement of glucose and lipid profile status with Aloe vera in pre-diabetic subjects: a randomized controlled-trial

BACKGROUND: Pre-diabetes is a disturbing trend in the population, who are at risk of developing type-two diabetes. The aim of this study was to determine the effects use of Aloe vera in different doses on glucose and lipid profile in pre-diabetic subjects. METHODS: This study was a double blind randomized controlled trial (72 subjects) with pre-diabetes symptoms in 3 groups consumed capsules twice a day: Aloe vera 300 mg (AL300), 500 mg (AL500) and placebo (PL). Fasting blood glucose (FBS), HbA1C and lipid profile were evaluated in baseline, 4 or 8 weeks. On-way ANOVA, Friedman, Wilcoxon, Kruskal-Wallis , Mann–Whitney and Chi-square tests were used for within or between groups statistical analysis. RESULTS: FBS level in group AL300, showed significantly decreased in fourth week after the intervention, compared to PL in the same time (p = 0.001). Also, HbA1C level in this group at the eighth week after the intervention (p = 0.042), had a significant decrease. The levels of Total cholesterol and LDL-C, only in the group AL500 (p < 0.001 and p = 0.01), was significantly reduced, along with HDL-C level improvement just after eight weeks (p = 0.004). Triglyceride level showed a significant decrease (p < 0.045) just after four weeks use of AL500. CONCLUSIONS: The Use of Aloe vera extract in pre-diabetic patients, could revert impaired blood glucose within four weeks, but after eight weeks could alleviate their abnormal lipid profile.