Protective Effect of Gum Arabic Supplementation for Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus and its Complications

Background: Gum arabic (Acacia senegal) is a well known soluble dietary fiber and is regarded as the safest dietary fiber by the United States Food and Drug Administration (US FDA). Objective: To determine the effect of Gum arabic supplementation on human subjects with type-2 diabetes mellitus and its complications by routine hematological and biochemical examinations. Materials and Methods: A clinical trial was conducted in forty participants with a daily supplement of powdered Gum arabic (10g/day), for a period of 16 weeks in a healthy subjects, pre-diabetics, patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus and patients with diabetic nephropathy. Results: All groups showed significant decrease in fasting blood glucose and glycosylated hemoglobin (HbAc1), followed by significant decrease in total protein and uric acid concentration in the blood. Renal function was also improved after Gum arabic supplementation which was clear in all groups with significant decrease in blood urea nitrogen and creatinine concentration in diabetics and diabetic nephropathy patients. Conclusion: All groups recorded overall health improvement. Thus, findings from the study revealed that Gum arabic supplementation had effects on type-2 diabetes mellitus patients and improved the prognosis of the disease.