Abstract
Objective: To estimate the mitigating effect of Berberine on insulin resistance, glycemic control, and blood lipids in newly diagnosed type 2 DM (T2DM) subjects. Study design: Case control study Place and Duration: Department of Medicine, Liaquat University of Medical and Health Sciences Jamshoro/Hyderabad from February 2016 to August 2016. Subjects and Methods: A sample of 68 newly diagnosed T2DM subjects divided into 2 groups; Group 1- metformin 500 mg x 3 daily and Group 2- berberine 500 mg x 3 daily were studied. Baseline blood samples were checked. After 3 months of metformin and berberine therapy; blood samples were collected again and analyzed on Roche Biochemical analyzer. HOMA was calculated as HOMA-IR = fasting insulin × fasting glucose/22.5. Statistix 10.0 (USA) software was used for data analysis at 95% confidence interval (P ≤ 0.05). Results: After 3 months of BBR and metformin therapy; the fasting glucose and fasting insulin were decreased by 23.6% and 31%, & 9.5% and 9.01% respectively. The BBR and metformin treated diabetics showed a 29.5% and 8.12% decrease in insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) respectively. HOMA-IR in metformin and berberine treated diabetics was decreased to 3.90±1.13 and 2.75 ± 0.73 respectively (p=0.0001). Conclusion: The present study reports the Berberine is effective in mitigating the insulin resistance in newly diagnosed type 2 diabetics. Berberine decreased insulin resistance by 29.5% and metformin by 8.12%.