Improvement in Fasting Blood Glucose with the Combination of Chromium Picolinate and Biotin in Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus

Improvement in Fasting Blood Glucose with the Combination of Chromium Picolinate and Biotin in Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus Chromium picolinate (Cr Pic) i Chromium picolinate (Cr Pic) improves insulin sensitivity and biotin improves beta cell function leading to enhancement of insulin regulation. Earlier studies have shown that the combination of Cr Pic and biotin improves glycemic control, lipid profiles, and enhances glucose uptake and glycogen synthesis in skeletal muscle cells. The current 30 - day, randomized, double blind, placebo controlled study was designed to evaluate the effects of the combination of CrPic and biotin on fasting blood glucose (FBG) and fructosamine in people with type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM; n=25). Participants were taking stable doses of oral antidiabetic medication(s) excluding concomitant insulin, however, even with multiple medications this subject population did not have tight glucose control. To be included subjects also had to have Hb A1c [gt]7% and at least a one year history of type 2 DM. Subjects were randomly assigned to active (n=14; 600 mcg Cr as CrPic and Biotin 2 mg/per day) or placebo (n=11) for four weeks. Demographic characteristics, family history and medical history were recorded. At the end of the study, there was a significant decrease in FBG levels in the active (- 26.2 mg/dL) but not in the placebo (+15.3 mg/dL) group (p[lt]0.01). A significant drop of FBG was observed in over 70% of subjects in the active and only 27% subjects in the placebo group. A tendency for a decrease in fasting fructosamine was also observed in actives (-32.4 mcmoles/L) but not placebo (+ 7.73 mcmoles/L; p[lt]0.07). These positive short term effects are suggestive of more long term benifits. These results suggest that the combination of CrPic and biotin may benefit individuals with type 2 DM who are hyperglycemic and have high fructosamine levels by reducing the risk factors and complications of this disease. In addition, these results suggest that this nutrient combination may be a valuable adjuvant therapy for the management of type 2 DM in those patients who fail to control blood sugar levels. JEFF GEOHAS, MANLEY FINCH, VIJAYA JUTURU, DANIELLE GREENBERG, JAMES R. KOMOROWSKI 191-OR Chicago, IL; Purchase, NY Nutrition - Clinical