Improvement of glucose and lipid profile status with Aloe vera in pre-diabetic subjects: a randomized controlled-trial

BACKGROUND Pre-diabetes is a disturbing trend in the population, who are at risk of developing type-two diabetes. The aim of this study was to determine the effects use of Aloe vera in different doses on glucose and lipid profile in pre-diabetic subjects. METHODS This study was a double blind randomized controlled trial (72 subjects) with pre-diabetes symptoms in 3 groups consumed capsules twice a day: Aloe vera 300 mg (AL300), 500 mg (AL500) and placebo (PL). Fasting blood glucose (FBS), HbA1C and lipid profile were evaluated in baseline, 4 or 8 weeks. On-way ANOVA, Friedman, Wilcoxon, Kruskal-Wallis , Mann-Whitney and Chi-square tests were used for within or between groups statistical analysis. RESULTS FBS level in group AL300, showed significantly decreased in fourth week after the intervention, compared to PL in the same time (p = 0.001). Also, HbA1C level in this group at the eighth week after the intervention (p = 0.042), had a significant decrease. The levels of Total cholesterol and LDL-C, only in the group AL500 (p < 0.001 and p = 0.01), was significantly reduced, along with HDL-C level improvement just after eight weeks (p = 0.004). Triglyceride level showed a significant decrease (p < 0.045) just after four weeks use of AL500. CONCLUSIONS The Use of Aloe vera extract in pre-diabetic patients, could revert impaired blood glucose within four weeks, but after eight weeks could alleviate their abnormal lipid profile.