Comparison of the Effects of Sodium metavanadate and Zinc Sulfate Supplementation on Lipid and Glu-cose in Patients with Type ۲ Diabetes

Type ۲ diabetes mellitus is a chronic illness causing considerable morbidity and mortality. Enormous advances have been made in medical care but more people are still having tendency to use herbal or alternative remedies. This study is a randomized, controlled trial on type ۲ diabetic patients. The subject consisted of ۶۰ patients divided randomly into three groups and supple-mented daily with ۱۰۰ mg sodium metavanadate and ۶۶۰ mg zinc sulfate or placebo for six weeks. The following were checked at baseline of the study and after six weeks: Body Mass Index (BMI), Blood Pressure (BP), Fasting Blood Sugar (FBS), ۲-h postprandial glucose (۲hpp), Glycated hemoglobin (HbA۱c), Triglyceride (TG), Total Cholesterol (TC), Low-Density Lipo-proteins, and High-Density Lipoproteins. Also HbA۱c, BMI and BP were measured after ۱۲ weeks to evaluate the long-term effects of drugs. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS ۱۱.۵. Data of continuous variables are expressed as means ± standard deviation. Differences between groups were assessed by the paired T-test. Comparison between three groups was done by Post Hoc Tests. Mean age of patients was ۵۱.۳۹ ± ۸.۶۰ years. The results of this study show a significant decrease in TG (P = ۰.۰۱) and BMI (P = ۰.۰۳). After ۱۲ weeks, there was a signifi-cant decrease in BMI (P =۰.۰۱) in Sodium metavanadate group. Due to zinc sulfate administra-tion, significant decrease was seen in TG (P =۰.۰۰۵), TC (P = ۰.۰۲), LDL (P = ۰.۰۱) and systolic blood pressure (P = ۰.۰۲). After ۱۲ weeks, there was a significant decrease in HbA۱c (P = ۰.۰۴) with zinc sulfate consumption. Consumption of zinc sulfate in type ۲ diabetic patients could be effective in lipid profile. It is recommended to use another vanadium compound to achieve better results.