Royal Jelly Decreases Blood Pressure, Serum Glucose, and Interleukin-6 in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes on an Iso-caloric Diet

Background: Royal Jelly (RJ) is a mixture of protein, glucose, lipid, vitamins,and minerals that is widely used as a commercial medical product. Previousstudies have shown that RJ has physiological effects such as anti-inflammatory,anti-tumor, anti-allergic, and antioxidant. In the present study, the effects of RJon some cardiovascular disease risk factors were investigated in patients withtype 2 diabetes on an iso-caloric diet. Methods: In this randomized controlledtrial, patients with type 2 diabetes aged 25-65 years with body mass index (BMI)of 26-30 kg/m2 and hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) of 7-9% were included. Thepatients were randomly assigned to receive 1000 mg of RJ supplement or theplacebo three times daily for 8 wks. Weight, fasting blood glucose (FBG),HbA1c, blood pressure, and inteleukin-6 levels were measured. Results: Incomparison to the placebo, FBG (P = 0.006), interleukin-6 (P = 0.017), andsystolic blood pressure (P = 0.02) were significantly decreased in the RJ group atthe end of the study. There were significant differences in the mean changes ofsystolic blood pressure at the baseline to the endpoint of systolic blood pressurebetween the two groups (P = 0.006). Conclusions: Royal Jelly may reduceincidence of cardiovascular disease by lowering effects on FBG, inteleukin-6,and systolic blood pressure in patients with type 2 diabetes.

Keywords:

Royal jelly , Interleukin-6 , Blood pressure , Type 2 diabetes