Clinical Summary:
Cardiovascular diseases are the most common cause of morbidity and mortality in individual with diabetes. They could potentially be prevented or managed by modifiable lifestyle factors like diet and physical activity. Currently, there are many dietary supplements available for the management of both hypertension and diabetes but the outcome for their effectiveness is mixed. In past, multiple studies investigated the effect of Steviol glycosides (SG) on the management of hypertension. While animal studies suggested that they exhibit a pharmacologic action on blood pressure and in vivo studies reported SG can inhibit calcium ion channels. Few researchers observed SG can reduce hypertension via increasing renal plasma flow and glomerular filtration rate (GFR). Apart from this, there is also growing evidence of its possible effects on lowering blood glucose levels. In animal studies SGs have demonstrated stimulatory effects on insulin and decreasing blood glucagon concentrations leading to a lowering of blood glucose. In humans, acute ingestion of SGs have shown to significantly reduce plasma glucose levels in normal and diabetic conditions.
However, there still exists uncertainty about the effectiveness and safety of steviol glycosides (SG).Hence the current review evaluates the evidence for their effectiveness on cardiovascular risk factors in adults. The results from the meta-analysis suggested steviosides might generate reductions in blood sugar levels and fasting blood sugars. Rebaudioside A does not appear to have any significant effects on blood pressure or cardiovascular risk factors. However, the available clinical trials had participants who had a high cardiovascular risk and were characterized by inadequate sample size, varied study designs and reporting quality. Further clinical trials and regulatory assessments are warranted.
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