Effect of French maritime pine bark extract supplementation on metabolic status and serum vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 levels in patients with type 2 diabetes and microalbuminuria.

Abstract Objectives This study investigated the effect of French maritime pine bark extract (PBE) supplementation on metabolic parameters, vascular cell adhesion molecule 1 (VCAM-1), urinary albumin-to-creatinine ratio (UACR), and anthropometric indexes in patients with type 2 diabetes (T2DM) and microalbuminuria. Design This randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial was conducted on 46 patients with T2DM and the evidence of microalbuminuria aged 30 to 65 years. Setting Patients were recruited from the endocrinology clinic of Sina hospital (Tabriz, Iran) from March 2018 to April 2019. Interventions The subjects were randomly assigned to receive two capsules/day each containing 50mg of PBE or placebo for eight weeks. Main outcome measures Glycemic parameters, serum VCAM-1 and lipid profile, UACR, and anthropometric indexes were measured for all patients at baseline and the end of the study. Results PBE supplementation significantly reduced glycosylated hemoglobin, VCAM-1, total cholesterol, UACR, waist circumference, and waist-to-height ratio compared to the placebo group at the end of the study (all P   0.05). Conclusions The study findings demonstrated some favorable effects of PBE supplementation on glycemic control, serum VCAM-1 and total cholesterol levels, and microalbuminuria, as well as abdominal obesity in patients with T2DM.