Effects of Moringa oleifera leaves on the blood glucose, blood pressure, and lipid profile of type 2 diabetic subjects: A parallel group randomized clinical trial of efficacy.

BACKGROUND: There is a paucity of information on the antidiabetic potential of graded amounts of Moringa leaves on diabetes human subjects. AIM: To ascertain the effeccts of Moringa leaves on type 2 diabetic subjects' blood glucose, blood pressure, and lipid profile levels in a rural Nigerian community. METHODS: This study adopted a parallel group randomized control design. Participants included 40 adult male and female diabetic subjects who met the inclusion criteria and consented to participate in the study. The participants were randomly assigned to four groups. The control group was fed diets without Moringa oleifera leaves while the experimental groups received 20, 40, and 60 g of Moringa leaves respectively daily for 14 days in addition to the diets. The subjects' baseline data and post-intervention data were collected before and after the intervention, respectively. Data were analyzed using paired-sample t-test and analysis of covariance. Significance was accepted at p < 0.05. RESULTS: The mean fasting blood glucose levels in all the groups did not differ significantly from one another. Group 3 had significantly (p = 0.01) lower mean systolic pressure (from 136.40 ± 7.66 to 123.90 ± 13.82) after the intervention. Group 3 subjects had a significant (p = 0.04) increase in their triglyceride values (from 123.80 ± 53.69 before intervention to 151.20 ± 41.47) after intervention. After adjusting for the pre-intervention values, there was no significant (p > 0.05) difference in all the parameters at the end of the intervention. CONCLUSION: There were marginal improvements in the parameters assessed which were not dose-dependent.