Effect of Supplementation of Mulberry Leaf Powder on the Blood Sugar Levels of the Selected NIDDM Subjects

Abstract

Diabetes is a disorder characterized by the passage of sweet urine, excessive urine production, thirst, excessive hunger and in some cases, weight loss. Diabetes mellitus can be defined as a group of disorders with a common characteristic of hyperglycemia. Hyperglycemia means an elevated level of glucose in the blood. In the management of diabetes mellitus, diet has been recognized as a corner stone of therapy. In recent years, there has been much speculation over the dietary formulation, which may be the most effective in achieving better control of blood sugar and in addition, is most likely to prevent or delay the debilitating complications of diabetes. The present study was designed to see the effect of supplementation of mulberry leaf powder supplement on NIDDM subjects. An initial sample of 200 NIDDM subjects were randomly selected from one private and two government health centers of Tirupati who were between the age group of 30 to 60 years. A purposive sample of n=120 NIDDM subjects were selected from which control group n=60 and experimental group n=60 were divided. Mulberry leaf powder supplementation was given for experimental group for a period of 60 days. Results reveals that a significant difference at 1% was identified in the experimental group of subjects when compared to the control group clearly tells that mulberry leaf powder supplementation helped in controlling blood sugar levels.