Effects of royal jelly supplementation on glycemic control and oxidative stress factors in type 2 diabetic female: a randomized clinical trial.

OBJECTIVE: It has been proposed that royal jelly has antioxidant properties and may improve oxidative stress and glycemic control. Therefore, we investigated the effects of royal jelly supplementation in diabetic females. METHODS: In this pilot, parallel design randomized clinical trial, 50 female volunteers with type 2 diabetes were randomly allocated to the supplemented (25, cases) and placebo (25, cases) groups, based on random block procedure produced by Random Allocation Software, given a daily dose of 1,000 mg royal jelly soft gel or placebo, respectively, for 8 weeks. Before and after intervention, glycemic control indices, antioxidant and oxidative stress factors were measured. RESULTS: After royal jelly supplementation, the mean fasting blood glucose decreased remarkably (163.05±42.51 mg/dL vs. 149.68±42.7 mg/dL). Royal jelly supplementation resulted in significant reduction in the mean serum glycosylated hemoglobin levels (8.67%±2.24% vs. 7.05%±1.45%, P=0.001) and significant elevation in the mean insulin concentration (70.28±29.16 pmol/L vs. 86.46±27.50 pmol/L, P=0.01). Supplementation significantly increased erythrocyte superoxidase dismutase and glutathione peroxidase activities and decreased malondialdehyde levels (P<0.05). At the end of study, the mean total antioxidant capacity elevated insignificantly in both groups. CONCLUSIONS: On the basis of our findings, it seems that royal jelly supplementation may be beneficial in controlling diabetes outcomes. Further studies with larger sample size are warranted.

Effects of royal jelly supplementation on body weight and dietary intake in type 2 diabetic females.

BACKGROUND: The objective of the current study was to assess the effects of royal jelly supple-mentation on body weight, total daily energy and macronutrients intakes in type2 diabetic fe-males. METHODS: In this randomized clinical trial, fifty female volunteers with type2 diabetes were as-signed into the supplemented (n=25) and placebo (n=25) groups, given a daily dose of 1000 mg royal jelly soft gel or placebo, for 8 weeks, respectively. Before and after the intervention, body weight and height of subjects were measured and body mass index was calculated. Dietary intake of patients was assessed using 24-hour food recall questionnaire for three non consecutive days (including 1 weekend day) and analyzed with Nutritionist IV software. The normally distributed data were compared using paired and independent t-tests, where appropriate. RESULTS: Royal jelly supplementation significantly (P<0.01) decreased the mean body weight (72.45±4.42 vs. 71.00±6.44 kg) while it increased insignificantly in placebo group (73.02±6.44 vs 73.52±6.80 kg). Royal jelly supplementation resulted in significant decrease of mean daily total energy (P<0.01) and carbohydrate (P<0.01) intakes, while in placebo group the mean daily total energy and fat intakes were increased significantly (P<0.05). CONCLUSION: Supplementation with royal jelly may be beneficial in weight management of di-abetic patients.