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Effects of propolis supplementation on glycemic status, lipid profiles, inflammation and oxidative stress, liver enzymes, and body weight: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled clinical trials

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Abstract

The aim of meta-analysis was to assess the effects of propolis on markers of oxidative stress, lipid profiles, inflammation and glycemic control, liver enzymes, and weight control. The heterogeneity between the included studies was indicated using the Cochrane’s Q test and I-square (I2) statistic. 14 trials were included in this meta-analysis. Our meta-analysis indicated a significant reduction in fating glucose (WMD: -17.00; 95% CI: −30.88, −3.11), HbA1C (WMD: -0.42; 95% CI: −0.75, −0.10), and insulin (WMD: -1.75; 95% CI: −3.24, −0.26) and a marginally significant reduction in insulin resistance (WMD: -0.60; 95% CI: −1.20, 0.00) following propolis supplementation in 10, 8, 6, and 5 studies, respectively. Pooling 5 effect sizes, a significant reduction was seen in ALT (WMD: -5.63; 95% CI: −10.59, −0.67) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) (WMD: -3.09; 95% CI: −5.15, −1.03) following propolis. A significant beneficial effect was observed for CRP (WMD: -1.11; 95% CI: −1.92, −0.29), TNF-α (WMD: -6.71; 95% CI: −9.44, −3.98) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) (WMD: -17.99; 95% CI: −35.56, −0.42) concentrations after propolis supplementation. This study demonstrated the beneficial effects of propolis on FPG, HbA1c, insulin, CRP, TNF-α and liver enzymes levels.

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Abbreviations

LDL:

Low Density Lipoprotein

AST:

Aspartate Aminotransferase

FPG:

Fasting Plasma Glucose

BMI:

Body Mass Index

HbA1C:

Hemoglobin A1C

IR:

Insulin Resistance

TG:

Triglyceride

TC:

Total Cholesterol

ALT:

Alanine Aminotransferase

HDL:

High Density Lipoprotein

IL-6:

Interleukin-6

CRP:

C-reactive protein

TAC:

Total Antioxidant Capacity

MDA:

Malondialdehyde

TNF-α:

Tumor Necrosis Factor-α

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JH and SMM contributed in design, statistical analysis, conception and drafting of the manuscript. AM, VEA, EA and HM contributed in manuscript drafting and data collection.

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Correspondence to Seyyed Mehdi Mirhashemi.

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Hallajzadeh, J., Milajerdi, A., Amirani, E. et al. Effects of propolis supplementation on glycemic status, lipid profiles, inflammation and oxidative stress, liver enzymes, and body weight: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled clinical trials. J Diabetes Metab Disord 20, 831–843 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40200-020-00696-w

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