The Effect of Ginger on Blood Lipid and Lipoproteins in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes: A Double-Blind Randomized Clinical Controlled Trial

Background: Preliminary clinical trials showed that ginger improved lipid profile in type 2 diabetes patients (T2D). This trial was carried out to determine the effect of ginger on blood lipid and lipoproteins in T2D. Methods: this is a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial on 88 T2D conducted in. The patients were randomly divided into two groups of ginger (GG) and placebo (PG), the GG consumed daily 3 one-gram capsules containing ginger powder whereas the other group received capsules of the same color and number as GG but containing cellulose microcrystalline, both after taking meals and for eight weeks. Serum total cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TG), HDL-c, LDL-c, Apo B100 and Apo A1 were measured at the baseline and the end of trial. Results: Out of 88 patients who participated in the trial, 81 of them accomplished it. No significant changes were observed in mean of TC, TG, HDL-c, and Apo B100 within and between the groups. Serum LDL-c and LDL-c/HDL-c ratio were decreased significantly in the GG (P = 0.03, P = 0.028) at the end of trail but they were not significantly different between the two groups. Serum Apo A1 was increased significantly in the GG (P < 0.05) and PG (P < 0.05) at the end of trial but it was not significantly different between the two groups. Conclusions: This study indicated that daily consumption of 3 g of ginger powder in capsules for 8 weeks by T2D leads to lowering of LDL-c, LDL-c/HDL-c ratio, and Apo A1. Therefore, consumption of this supplementation is appropriate for this patients