A six-month supplementation of mulberry, Korean red ginseng, and banaba decreases biomarkers of systemic low-grade inflammation in subjects with impaired glucose tolerance and type 2 diabetes

We sought the long-term efficacy of traditionally used antidiabetic herbs in controlling blood glucose homeostasis and low-grade inflammation. Ninety-four subjects with either impaired glucose tolerance or mild T2D were randomized either to treatment arm or placebo arm and received 1:1:1 mixture of ginseng roots, mulberry leaf water extract, and banaba leaf water extract (6g/d) for 24 weeks. Oral 75g glucose tolerance test was performed to measure glucose and insulin responses. Blood biomarkers of low-grade inflammation were also determined. Results found no significant difference in glucose homeostasis control measure changes. However, plasma intracellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) concentration was decreased showing a significant between-treatment changes (P = 0.037). The concentrations of vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1) (P = 0.014) and ICAM-1 (P = 0.048) were decreased in the treatment group at week 24, and the oxidized low-density lipoprotein (ox-LDL) concentration was reduced at week 24 compared to the baseline value in the treatment group (P = 0.003). These results indicate a long-term supplementation of ginseng, mulberry leaf, and banaba leaf suppresses inflammatory responses in T2D.