چكيده لاتين :
Background: With respect to the complications of high blood sugar, the present study was conducted on type II diabetic patients referred to Research Center for Diabetes in Yazd in 1999 to determine the effects of Basil intake.
Materials and methods: Patients who have not received any hypoglycemic drugs were included in this crossover study. Patients were randomly assigned in two groups. During two different periods ʹof 4 weeks with an interval of 14 days (washout period), they were asked to have either their own regular diet or basil (dry powder, 20 gr/d). Fasting blood sugar and blood sugar 2 hours following the breakfast was determined at 4 stages; beginning of the study, 4, 6, and 10 weeks later. Paired t-test and t-test were used for data analysis.
Results: The study population included 10 females and 6 males with the mean age (±SD) of 46.9±8 years, mean weight of 66.819.1 kg, and mean awareness of the illness of 3.3±1.7 years. The mean values of carbohydrate and fiber consumed in basil regimen were significantly higher than the regular regimen (242.9±47.1 vs. 204.8±48.4 gr and 20.9±5.6 vs. 9.6±8.5 gr, respectively, p<0.01 and p<0.001). At the end of the period, the fasting blood sugar of the group received basil was significantly decreased when compared to the basic value and also with the regular diet group (114.2±12.5 vs. 140.911.9 and 140.4±17.3 gr/dl, respectively, p<0.001). Blood sugar 2 hours following the breakfast in the group received basil was significantly lower as compared to the basic values and also with the regular diet group (160.5±15.8 vs. 195.4±9.1 and 195.6±12.2 gr/dl respectively, p<0.001) .
Conclusion: Our results indicate that using basil with oneʹs regular diet is effective to reduce blood glucose level in patients with type II diabetes.
