Background: Type 2 diabetes is considered as one of the most common chronic diseases. Controlling glucose indices and blood pressure in diabetic patients is very important. This study aimed to examine the effect of blueberry solution on blood pressure and fasting blood sugar (FBS) in patients with non-insulin dependent diabetes mellitus.
Materials and Methods: In this before-and-after experimental study, 50 patients were selected and received 20 ml of blueberry solution before every meal. The FBS and blood pressure of the patients before and one, two, three and four weeks following the consumption were measured and the results were compared before and after the intervention.
Results: Sixty-six percent of the subjects were females and 60% of them were in the age group of 55-50 years old. The mean FBS level before the intervention was 190.50±53.48 mg/dl and mean values of the systolic and diastolic blood pressure before the intervention were 150.20±8.75 and 103.16±9.66 mmHg, respectively. After the intervention, there was a statistically significant reduction in mean FBS level (the first stage: 178.32±51.71, the second stage: 170.26±50.66, the third stage: 165.42±51.71, and the fourth stage: 156.08±51.49 mg/dl), systolic (the first stage: 147.24±8.67, the second stage: 144.18±8.52, the third stage: 142.14±8.47, and the fourth stage: 140.84±9.06 ml/Hg) and diastolic (the first stage: 98.52±7.63, the second stage: 94.44±6.72, the third stage: 92.12±6.05, and the fourth stage: 91.34±6.75 mm/Hg) blood pressure (P=0.001).
Conclusion: Medicinal plants such as blueberry can be used as a drug to reduce FBS and blood pressure in patients with diabetes.