Favorable Effects on Metabolic Risk Factors With Daily Brewer's Yeast in Type 2 Diabetic Patients With Hypercholesterolemia: A Semi-Experimental Study Publisher Pubmed



Khosraviboroujeni H¹ ; Rostami A² ; Ravanshad S³ ; Esmaillzadeh A⁴ Show Affiliations
Source: Journal of Diabetes Published:2012

Abstract

Background: The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of brewer's yeast on plasma glucose and lipid profiles in patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D). Methods: The present semi-experimental study was performed on 55 T2D patients with hypercholesterolemia. All patients received 12 tablets of 300mg yeast per day for 8weeks. Each tablet contained 1.2μg chromium. Fasting plasma glucose, total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-C), low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-C), and triglyceride levels were measured at baseline and then again at Weeks4 and 8. Results: Although there was a tendency for plasma glucose levels to decrease at Week4, the difference failed to reach statistical significance (P=0.065). However, after 8weeks, the decrease in plasma glucose was significant (P=0.043). Again, although there was a tendency for decreased plasma cholesterol at Week 8 compared with baseline, the difference failed to reach statistical significance (215±29 vs 226±37mg/dL, respectively; P=0.056). Brewer's yeast significantly decreased plasma triglyceride and LDL-C levels at Weeks 4 and 8. In contrast, plasma HDL-C levels were significantly increased at both 4 and 8weeks compared with baseline (41.3±8.8 and 43.3±7.5 vs 36±5mg/dL, respectively; P<0.01 and P<0.01, respectively). Conclusion: In conclusion, the consumption of brewer's yeast over a period of 8weeks may improve cardiometabolic risk factors in T2D patients. However, these findings need to be confirmed in a large double-blind clinical trial. © 2011 Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine and Blackwell Publishing Asia Pty Ltd.