Boswellia improves lipids, liver enzymes and long term glucose control in diabetics

Tuesday, February 18, 2014. The results of a trial reported in an article published on February 4, 2014 in the Journal of Diabetes & Metabolic Disorders reveal a benefit for supplementation with Boswellia serrata among men and women with type 2 diabetes.

"This study was aimed to investigate the antidiabetic, hypolipidemic and hepatoprotective effects of supplementation of Boswellia serrata in type 2 diabetic patients," write Akram Ahangarpour and colleagues. They enrolled 60 type 2 diabetics between 30 and 48 years of age who were divided to receive three 300 milligram (mg) doses of Boswellia serrata daily or no supplementation for six weeks. Blood samples collected before and after the treatment period were analyzed for lipids, triglycerides, liver enzymes, and fructosamine, which assesses long term glucose control. Participants were questioned weekly concerning whether they experienced side effects or drug interactions.

At the end of six weeks, subjects who received Boswellia had a significant increase in high-density lipoprotein (HDL) levels in addition to reductions in total and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, fructosamine and the liver enzymes SGPT and SGOT. No side effects or drug interactions were reported. The authors suggest that Boswellia's antioxidant effect and its ability to lower blood glucose could be responsible for the subjects' reduction in fructosamine, which is a measurement of glycosylated proteins.

The current findings are in agreement with those of other studies which have observed improvements in lipids and liver enzymes in association with Boswellia serrata supplementation. "Daily consumption of 900 mg of Boswellia serrata possibly depicts a safe and effective means to decrease the risk factors associated with type 2 diabetic subjects," the authors conclude.