Effectiveness and Safety of Kenyan Anti-Diabetic Herbal Formulations: A Pilot Study

Abstract

Herbal remedies are widely used for the management of diabetes. Evidence of their safety and their effectiveness needs to be evaluated and documented. Metformin, a widely used drug for Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM) was developed from a plant source, Galega officinalis. In Kenya, many plants are in use for the management of T2DM with scarce scientific data on effectiveness or safety. The objective of this study was to determine the safety and effectiveness of local herbal medicines used in the management of T2DM. Two herbalists were asked to submit selected anti-diabetic formulations for testing. Type 2 diabetic patients were recruited and divided into three cohorts as follows: those already on oral conventional anti-diabetic medicines (CTC) and a second and third cohort taking two different oral herbal antidiabetic medicines (LUC and MUI). The herbal cohorts registered statistically significant decreases in HbA1c during the second visit at three months (p = 0.032). Both the conventional and herbal cohorts registered increases in RBS over time (CTC, LUC, MUI; p = 0.031, 0.002, 0.014). Fasting blood sugar decreased between visits during the entire study (p < 0.001). Body mass index increased in all cohorts (p = 0.0894). The MIU herbal cohort experience treatment failure. All patients in the LUC herbal cohort experienced adverse effects