Metabolic Benefits of Drinking Blueberry Tea in Type 2 Diabetes

Type 2 Diabetes Clinical Trial

Official title: Metabolic Benefits of Drinking Blueberry Tea in Type 2 Diabetes

Status Recruiting

Clinical Trial Summary

Plant derived compounds, e.g. flavonoids from dark chocolate, green tea, or blueberries, show great potential as nutraceuticals for the treatment of various diseases such as type 2 diabetes (T2D). Flavonoids have been suggested to improve glucose metabolism, reduce blood lipids, reduce oxidative stress and improve vascular function. For these reasons we recently investigated the effects of daily consumption of locally produced blueberry tea and demonstrated that this could partially restore insulin sensitivity in an animal model. We propose to translate these findings to assess the efficacy of this nutraceutical as a new treatment for improving glucose tolerance in people with T2D.

Clinical Trial Description

Current treatments for T2D are limited, have unwanted side effects, and lose effectiveness over time. There is a growing public interest in the use of complementary and alternative approaches for treating insulin resistance and T2D. Blueberries, blueberry leaves and cinnamon have each been reported to improve insulin sensitivity or insulin action. Blueberry Boost™ is a locally produced Blueberry Tea and is a proprietary blend of dried blueberries (37% wt/wt), blueberry leaves, raspberry leaves, spearmint leaves and cinnamon.

It is well established that improving glycemic control is important for managing insulin resistance and T2D and the associated vascular pathologies that directly contribute to end-organ damage (microvascular disease), hypertension and cardiovascular disease (stroke, heart attack and heart failure). We have recently demonstrated that a unique blueberry tea blend fully restores the vascular insulin sensitivity in muscle of the high-fat fed insulin-resistant rat model and is associated with substantial improvements in muscle glucose uptake and whole body insulin sensitivity. We propose to translate these findings to assess the efficacy of this nutraceutical as a new treatment for improving glucose tolerance in people with T2D.

Aim: Determine whether chronic consumption (4 weeks) of blueberry tea can improve metabolic and vascular health in people with and without T2D. ;

Related Conditions & MeSH terms

• Diabetes Mellitus
• Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2
• Type 2 Diabetes

• NCT number: NCT02629952
• Study type: Interventional
• Source: Menzies Institute for Medical Research
• Contact: Michelle A Keske, PhD
• Phone: +61 3 6226 2669
• Email: Michelle.Keske@deakin.edu.au
• Status: Recruiting
• Phase: N/A
• Start date: November 2015
• Completion date: December 2021