The Effects of Berberis Vulgaris Juice on Insulin Indices in Women with Benign Breast Disease: A Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial

The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of Berberis vulgaris (BV) juice consumption on insulin homeostasis, glycemic profiles of patients with benign breast disease (BBD). This parallel design, triple-blind, randomized and placebo controlled clinical trial was conducted on 85 eligible women diagnosed with BBD who recruited from Nour-Nejat hospital, Tabriz, Iran. Participants were randomly allocated into either intervention group who received BV juice (480 mL/day, n = 44) or BV juice placebo at the same time (480 mL/day, n = 41). After a 7 day run-in period, treatments were administered for the duration of 8 weeks. Participants, care givers and those who assessed laboratory analyses were blinded to the assignments (IRCT registry no: IRCT2012110511335N2). The relative treatment effects of BV supplementation showed decreased serum levels of insulin for 19%, C-peptide for 8%, homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance index (HOMA-IR) for 16% and glucose to insulin ratio for 22% but HOMA-B increased 44% relative to placebo group over 8 weeks BV supplementation. Although these changes were not statistical significant, the mean changes for C-peptide and HOMA-B were significant just after adjusting for baseline data and covariates. Administration of BV juice showed controlling effects on HOMA related indices, consequently might have beneficial effects on insulin signaling-related functions in women with benign breast tumor.