The Effect of Hydroalcholic Nettle (Urtica dioica) Extracts on Some Cardiovascular Risk Factors in Patients With Type 2 Diabetes

Type 2 diabetes is a metabolic disorder which is strongly associated with cardiovascular risk and requires intervention to improve glycemic control and other cardiovascular risk factors. In this study, hydro alcoholic extract of Nettle (Urtica dioica) on some cardiovascular risk factors in type 2 diabetic patients were studied. A randomized single-blind clinical trial of 50 men and women with type 2 diabetes aged 52.3913.75 years was conducted. Patients were adjusted by age, sex and duration of diabetes, then randomly divided into an intervention and control groups, they received, 100 mg kg-1 day-1 nettle extract or placebo in 3 portions for 8 weeks. Fasting Blood Sugar (FBS), glycated Hemoglobin (HbA1C), Fasting Insulin concentration, Total Cholesterol (TC), Low Density Lipoprotein (LDL), High Density Lipoprotein (HDL), Triglycerides (TG), systolic blood pressure(SBP), Diastolic blood pressure (DBP) were measured, TC/HDL-cholesterol, LDL/ HDL cholesterol ratio , Log (TG/HDL-c) and Insulin Resistance were calculated, at the beginning and end of the study. The data were analyzed by SPSS version 18, p<0.05 was considered significant in all measurement. After 8 weeks, FBS ,HbA1C , TG , Log (TG /HDL-c) and SBP showed a significant decrease and HDL-cholesterol showed a significant increase in the intervention group compared to the control group (p<0.05). The findings of this study suggest that the hydro alcoholic extract of nettle has a beneficial effect on FBS, HbA1C, TG, HDL-c concentration, Log (TG /HDL-c) and SBP in patients with type 2 diabetes after eight weeks intervention.