1.
A Placebo-Controlled, Double-Blind Clinical Investigation to Evaluate the Efficacy of a Patented Trigonella foenum-graecum Seed Extract "Fenfuro®" in Type 2 Diabetics.
Hota, D, Padhy, BM, Maiti, R, Bisoi, D, Sahoo, JP, Patro, BK, Kumar, P, Goel, A, Banik, SP, Chakraborty, S, et al
Journal of the American Nutrition Association. 2024;(2):147-156
Abstract
BACKGROUND Trigonella foenum-graecum (Fenugreek) is an extensively researched phytotherapeutic for the management of Type 2 diabetes without any associated side effects. The major anti-diabetic bioactive constituents present in the plant are furostanolic saponins, which are more abundantly available in the seed of the plant. However, the bioavailability of these components depends on the method of extraction and hence formulation of the phytotherapeutic constitutes a critical step for its success. OBJECTIVE The present study reports the efficacy of a novel, patented fenugreek seed extract, Fenfuro®, containing significant amount of furostanolic saponins, in an open-labelled, two-armed, single centric study on a group of 204 patients with Type 2 diabetes mellitus over a period of twelve consecutive weeks. RESULTS Administration of Fenfuro® in the dosage of 500 mg twice daily along with metformin and/or sulfonylurea-based prescribed antidiabetic drug resulted in a reduction of post-prandial glucose by more than 33% along with significant reduction in fasting glucose, both of which were greater than what resulted for the patient group receiving only Metformin and/or Sulfonylurea therapy. Fenfuro® also resulted in reduction in mean baseline HOMA index from 4.27 to 3.765, indicating restoration of insulin sensitivity which was also supported by a significant decrease in serum insulin levels by >10% as well as slight reduction in the levels of C-peptide. However, in the case of the Metformin and/or Sulfonylurea group, insulin levels were found to increase by more than 14%, which clearly indicated that drug-induced suppression of glucose levels instead of restoration of glucose homeostasis. Administration of the formulation was also found to be free from any adverse side effects as there were no changes in hematological profile, liver function and renal function. CONCLUSION The study demonstrated the promising potential of this novel phytotherapeutic, Fenfuro®, in long-term holistic management of type-2 diabetes.
2.
A randomized, pilot study to assess the efficacy and safety of curcumin in patients with active rheumatoid arthritis.
Chandran, B, Goel, A
Phytotherapy research : PTR. 2012;(11):1719-25
Abstract
Curcumin is known to possess potent antiinflammatory and antiarthritic properties. This pilot clinical study evaluated the safety and effectiveness of curcumin alone, and in combination with diclofenac sodium in patients with active rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Forty-five patients diagnosed with RA were randomized into three groups with patients receiving curcumin (500 mg) and diclofenac sodium (50 mg) alone or their combination. The primary endpoints were reduction in Disease Activity Score (DAS) 28. The secondary endpoints included American College of Rheumatology (ACR) criteria for reduction in tenderness and swelling of joint scores. Patients in all three treatment groups showed statistically significant changes in their DAS scores. Interestingly, the curcumin group showed the highest percentage of improvement in overall DAS and ACR scores (ACR 20, 50 and 70) and these scores were significantly better than the patients in the diclofenac sodium group. More importantly, curcumin treatment was found to be safe and did not relate with any adverse events. Our study provides the first evidence for the safety and superiority of curcumin treatment in patients with active RA, and highlights the need for future large-scale trials to validate these findings in patients with RA and other arthritic conditions.