Diabetes Mellitus (DM), commonly referred to as Diabetes is defined by World Health Organization (WHO) as a group of metabolic disorders characterized by chronic Hyperglycemia resulting from defects in insulin secretion, insulin action or both. Long-term organ damage, organ dysfunction and organ failure are associated with the chronic Hyperglycemia of Diabetes. Possible Diabetes complications can be classified into two major categories; macrovascular and microvascular including Ischemic Heart Disease (IHD), Peripheral Vascular Disease (PVD), and Cerebrovascular Disease (CVD) "macrovascular", and Nephropathy, Retinopathy, and Neuropathy "microvascular" resulting in organ and tissue damage in almost one third to one half of population with diabetes.
According to the International Diabetes Federation (IDF), the three main types of Diabetes are Type 1 Diabetes, Type 2 Diabetes and Gestational Diabetes. Type 1 DM, formerly described as "Insulin Dependent Diabetes Mellitus" (IDDM) results from β-cells destruction, usually leading to absolute deficiency of insulin. Type 2 DM formerly described as "Non-Insulin-Dependent Diabetes Mellitus" (NIDDM) results from a progressive insulin secretory defect on the background of insulin resistance. Gestational Diabetes, which appears during pregnancy, is associated with increasing the risk of developing type 2 Diabetes in both mother and child later in life.
Diabetes is a rapidly growing health concern in both developed and developing nations and its prevalence is continuously increasing worldwide. Globally, in 2014, approximately 422 million adults were having diabetes, with type 2 making up about 91%of the cases. In 2015, according to IDF, an estimated 415 million adults were having diabetes along with an estimated 318 million adults with impaired glucose tolerance. Both WHO and IDF predict that by 2030, this number will be doubled. In 2016 the WHO global report on Diabetes stated that the prevalence of Diabetes has increased faster in low- and middle-income countries than in high-income countries.
Type 2 Diabetes is characterized by insulin resistance and/or abnormal insulin secretion, either of which may predominate. It is associated with several metabolic defects such as obesity, hypertension, and dyslipidemia, which contribute to the very high rate of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality.
Medicinal herbs were used to treat a wide range of diseases long time before the birth of conventional medicine systems. The World Health Organization (WHO) has listed 21,000 plant names, which are used for medicinal purposes around the world, so despite the fact that medicinal herbs are at times misconceived as being unscientific, their continual existence proves they are able to be alternatives or complementary to conventional drugs at some point.
Specifically, Ficus deltoidea leaves, Cinnamomum cassia L. powdered Extract and Black seed powdered extract have been used for the treatment of Diabetes Mellitus and other medical conditions for over 2000 years. Ficus deltoidea is an evergreen shrub reaching to 2 meters of height, with whitish grey bark, broadly spoon-shaped to obovate leaves and spherical or round figs. Over the years, it has been used to treat many diseases such as; Diabetes Mellitus, Hypertension, Hyperlipidemia and Gout. Numerous studies were conducted over the past years to assess the safety of Ficus deltoidea, Cinnamomum cassia L. powdered extract and Black seed powdered extract and their efficacy in treating type 2 Diabetes Mellitus.
As the available data on NW Low-Glu efficacy, safety and dosing regimen is not enough, this study will be conducted to compare the hypoglycemic effect of two doses of a herbal medicinal product of ficus and Cinnamomum cassia L. powdered Extract + Black seed powdered extract (NW Low-Glu) to that of Metformin as measured by the mean change in HbA1c levels in patients newly diagnosed with type II diabetes mellitus.
