Effects of combined therapy with glipizide and Aralia root bark extract on glycemic control and lipid profiles in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus.

Background: The root bark of Aralia is a rich source of bioactive components that may improve glycemic control and lipid status. In this study, 148 patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) were assigned randomly to receive either glipizide alone or glipizide plus Aralia root bark extract (ARBE) for 8 weeks to test the effects of ARBE plus glipizide therapy on glycemic control and lipid profiles in these patients.

Results: Levels of HbA1c, fasting plasma glucose (FPG) and 2 h postprandial plasma glucose (2-h PPG) in both groups significantly decreased from baseline. Glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) decreased marginally significantly in participants taking glipizide plus ARBE compared with the glipizide group (P = 0.06). Participants in the combination group had significant decreases in total cholesterol (TC) and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), and the between-group difference achieved statistical significance for LDL-C (P = 0.04). Reduction in HbA1c in the combination group was significantly associated with changes in TC (r = 0.32; P = 0.006) and LDL-C (r = 0.34; P = 0.005), and the change in FPG was inversely correlated with LDL-C reduction (r = 0.34; P = 0.004).

Conclusions: In patients with T2DM, combination therapy with glipizide and ARBE resulted in moderately lowering HbA1c and LDL-C levels compared with glipizide alone.