The effects of psyllium on lipoproteins in type II diabetic patients

Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences, University of Padua, Padua, ItalyWe examined the effects of 2 months of psyllium treatment in optimizing metabolic control and lipoprotein profile, and itspostprandial effects on lipids in type II diabetes. We recruited 40 type II diabetic patients who were on sulfonylureas and acontrolled diet, sequentially assigning them to psyllium treatment (G1) or to a control group (G2) treated with dietary measuresalone. After 2 months of treatment, body mass index, waist circumference, HbA1c (hemoglobin A1c) and fasting plasma glucoselevels had significantly decreased in both groups. There were no postprandial differences in the lipoprotein profile between thetwo groups. Triglycerides were significantly lower in G1, but not in G2. Our study contributes toward elucidating the effects ofpsyllium on serum lipids, and suggests that psyllium treatment may help in reducing triglycerides (a known risk factor forcardiovascular disease) in type II diabetic patients.European Journal of Clinical Nutrition (2009) 63, 1269–1271; doi:10.1038/ejcn.2009.60; published online 22 July 2009