Delphinol® standardized maqui berry extract reduces postprandial blood glucose increase in individuals with impaired glucose regulation by novel mechanism of sodium glucose cotransporter inhibition.
Level 2 - randomized trial
Individual double-blind, placebo-controlled crossover trial in humans, combined with animal and in vitro assays
What was done
Researchers evaluated the effect of Delphinol (a standardized maqui berry extract containing at least 25% delphinidins and 35% total anthocyanins) on postprandial blood glucose and insulin. Ten human volunteers with moderate glucose intolerance participated in a double-blind, placebo-controlled crossover study assessing responses after rice consumption. Long-term effects on fasting blood glucose were examined over 4 months in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats, and the mechanism of action on sodium-glucose cotransport was assessed in rodent jejunum tissue.
What was found
The abstract reports that pre-meal intake of Delphinol statistically significantly lowered postprandial blood glucose and insulin compared to placebo in the human crossover trial, though exact numerical values, effect sizes, and p-values were not provided. Mechanistically, delphinidin inhibited sodium-dependent glucose transport in rodent jejunum. In diabetic rats, 4 months of daily oral Delphinol significantly reduced fasting blood glucose levels to values indistinguishable from healthy non-diabetic controls, with no numerical figures provided.
Why it matters
This study provides early preliminary evidence that maqui berry extract may attenuate postprandial glycemic spikes in individuals with impaired glucose regulation, potentially by inhibiting intestinal sodium-glucose cotransporters.
Limits
The human clinical trial was extremely small (n = 10), and the abstract omits all specific quantitative data, confidence intervals, and exact p-values. Long-term efficacy, clinical safety, and glycemic outcomes in larger, diverse human cohorts remain unestablished, as long-term data were restricted to a rodent model.
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