The effect of sesame seeds on fast blood sugar, haemoglobin A1C, liver enzymes and lipid profile in patients with type 2 diabetes: a randomised clinical trial

Background
Diabetes is one of the most common diseases typically seen in modern societies.

Objectives
This research aimed to study the impact of consuming sesame seeds on some biochemical factors in type 2 diabetic patients.

Material and methods
This clinical trial was carried out on 60 patients diagnosed with type 2 diabetes who were assigned into the experimental (n = 30) and control groups (n = 30). The experimental group received 60 g sesame seeds per day for two months, while the control group did not receive any treatment. The demographic characteristics of patients were collected by a questionnaire-based survey method. The fasting blood sugar of patients was collected at the beginning and end of the clinical trial, and the biochemical factors were measured. For data analysis, the independent two-sample t-Test and paired t-Test were conducted using SPSS software version 20, and the level of significance was set at p < 0.05.

Results
In this study, the mean age of the experimental group was 52.48 ± 5.72 years old, while the average age of the control group was 56.00 ± 6.11 years old. The results showed that the serum levels of fasting blood glucose, HbA1C, cholesterol, triglycerides, low-density lipoprotein (LDL), alanine transaminase (ALT) and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) were significantly (p < 0.05) decreased in the experimental group compared to the control group.

Conclusions
Regarding the harmless effects of sesame seeds, it seems that complementary therapy would be useful for the treatment and prevention of diabetes.