effects of urtica dioica supplementation on blood lipids, hepatic enzymes and nitric oxide levels in type 2 diabetic patients: a double blind, randomized clinical trial

objective: oxidative stress plays an important role in the development of diabetic complications including metabolic abnormality-induced diabetic micro-vascular and macro-vascular complications. urtica dioica l. (u. dioica) has been traditionally used in iranian medicine as an herbal remedy for hypoglycemic or due to its anti-inflammatory properties. the aim of the present study was to evaluate the effects of hydro-alcoholic extract of u. dioica on blood lipids, hepatic enzymes and nitric oxide levels in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. materials and methods: 50 women with type 2 diabetes participated in this study and were randomly divided into two groups namely, control and intervention groups. control group received placebo and intervention group received hydro-alcoholic extract of u. dioica. before and after 8 weeks of continuous treatment, some biochemical serum levels including fpg, tg, sgpt, sgot, hdl, ldl, sod and no were measured. results: the results indicated that after 8 weeks, in the intervention group, fpg, tg, and sgpt levels significantly decreased and hdl, no and sod levels significantly increased as compared to the control group. conclusion: our results encourage the use of hydro-alcoholic extract of u. dioica as an antioxidant agent for additional therapy of diabetes as hydro-alcoholic extract of u. dioica may decrease risk factors of cardiovascular incidence and other complications in patients with diabetes mellitus.