ABSTRACT
Background and Purpose: Variation and increase in the levels of inflammatory factors and glycemia are among the major problems of type 2 diabetics. Therefore, the present study was designed to investigate the effect of beta carotene-enriched carrot juice on CRP inflammatory indexes, IL-6 and FBS glucose in diabetics
Methods and Materials: This randomized double blind clinical trial was conducted on 44 type 2 diabetics. Participants based on gender and BMI were assigned into two groups [Group A receiving 200 ml carrot juice enriched with 10 mg beta carotene and Group B receiving normal carrot juice] by randomized stratified sampling. Both groups received 200 ml carrot juice for 8 weeks for lunch [instead of cereals]. A 24-hour recall was obtained for 3 consecutive and 6 concomitant days at the beginning and end of the study duration. Also, CRP, IL-6, FBS glucose and serum beta carotene levels were measured in FBS blood sample at the beginning and end of the study duration. The consumption data were fed into Nutritionist IV, and analyzed in SPSS 11.5
Results: Each group consisted of 22 [11 male and 11 female diabetics] participants. There was a significant increase in the levels of beta carotene in group A [111.9 +/- 64.9 at the beginning and 72 +/- 43.9 at the end] [p=0.02]. However, the reduction of CRP in Group A [-996.9 +/- 2172.6 at the beginning and -537.3 +/- 1412.4 at the end] was not significant [p=0.098]. Also, IL-6 reduction in Group A [-0.8 +/- 2.1 at the beginning and -0.6 +/- 2.4 at the end] was not significant [p=0.085]. FBS glucose was also not examined in the present study
Conclusion: Daily consumption of carrot juice enriched with 10 mg beta carotene for eight weeks caused an improvement in the levels of serum antioxidants including beta carotene in type 2 diabetics, with no significant effects on serum glucose and inflammatory indexes