Can Oral Aloe Vera Use Benefit Diabetes Patients?

A new study finds that the use of oral aloe vera can greatly decrease both fasting blood glucose (FBG) and hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) in patients with diabetes and prediabetes.

In an effort to ascertain the effectiveness of aloe vera consumption on the reduction of FBG and HbA1c, researchers performed a meta-analysis that searched PubMed, CINAHL, Natural Medicines Comprehensive Database, and Natural Standard databases. The team examined studies of aloe vera's effect on FBG, HbA1c, homeostasis model assessment-estimated insulin resistance, fasting serum insulin, fructosamine, and oral glucose tolerance test in prediabetic and diabetic populations.
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In all, 9 studies were included, with the investigators finding that aloe vera use decreased FBG by 46.6 mg/dL and HbA1c by 1.05%. In addition, the results showed that significant reductions of both endpoints were maintained in all subgroup analyses.

The data suggest that patients with an FBG of 200 mg/dL or lower "may see a greater benefit," the authors wrote, adding that a mean FBG reduction of 109.9 mg/dL was observed in this population.

"Up until now, the benefits of ingesting oral aloe vera for the purpose of managing prediabetes or diabetes was limited," said Maj William R. Dick, BSC, PharmD, diagnostics and therapeutics flight commander at Whiteman Air Force Base, Missouri, and lead author of the study.

For this study, the authors systematically analyzed the available literature to determine the degree of benefit, Dr Dick said. While noting that more studies are needed, "the preponderance of data suggests that oral aloe vera may be considered as an alternative or adjunct for some patients based on the physician's clinical judgment."

More specifically, it may be an "attractive option to those patients that are resistant to taking traditional pharmacologic therapies, those who have had intolerable side effects on therapeutic doses of standard medications, or those who are inadequately controlled with maximal therapy," he continued.

"If supplementation is to be considered, we would recommend an oral aloe vera product that has been certified by the International Aloe Science Council and been granted a 'generally recognized as safe' (GRAS) status," Dr Dick said. "Although we are very intrigued with our findings, we would recommend that [this study] be treated as preliminary until a standardized large-scale trial is conducted to further confirm the results."

—Mark McGraw

Reference

Dick WR, Fletcher EA, Shah SA. Reduction of fasting blood glucose and hemoglobin A1c using oral aloe vera: a meta-analysis [published online May 6, 2016]. J Altern Complement Med. doi:10.1089/acm.2015.0122.