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 (6 g/d) for 24 weeks. Oral 75 g 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 (). The concentrations of vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1) () and ICAM-1 () 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 (). These results indicate a long-term supplementation of ginseng, mulberry leaf, and banaba leaf suppresses inflammatory responses in T2D.