Beneficial Contribution to Glucose Homeostasis by an Agro-Food Waste Product Rich in Abscisic Acid: Results from a Randomized Controlled Trial

The control of glucose homeostasis represents the primary goal for the prevention and management of diabetes and prediabetes. In recent decades, the hypoglycemic hormone abscisic acid (ABA) has attracted considerable interest in the scientific literature. In this regard, the high ABA concentration in immature fruits led us to consider these food matrices as candidates for diabetes control. Therefore, the beneficial efficacy of a nutraceutical formulation based on thinned nectarines (TNs) rich in ABA was tested through a three-month, three-arm, parallel-group, randomized controlled trial (RCT) conducted on sixty-one patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D). After 3 months, both the treatments with low doses of TN (500 mg 3 times/day) and high doses of TN (750 mg 3 times/day) showed a significant reduction in glycemic parameters compared to baseline. Treatment with low doses of TN showed a greater insulin-sparing effect (fasting plasma insulin, FPI: -29.2%, p < 0.05 vs. baseline) compared to the high-dose group (FPI: -16.5%, p < 0.05 vs. baseline). Moreover, a significant correlation between glycemia and ABA plasmatic levels was observed for both intervention groups at baseline and after 3 months. Overall, our data reasonably support TN as a promising and innovative nutraceutical product able to contribute to the management of glucose homeostasis.

Automated summary

The control of glucose homeostasis is crucial for the prevention and management of diabetes. Recent research has shown that the hypoglycemic hormone abscisic acid (ABA) found in immature fruits may be a potential candidate for diabetes control. A study tested the efficacy of a nutraceutical formulation based on thinned nectarines (TNs) rich in ABA in sixty-one patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D). After three months of treatment, both low-dose and high-dose TN showed significant reductions in glycemic parameters compared to baseline. The low-dose TN treatment showed a greater insulin-sparing effect and there was a significant correlation between glycemia and ABA levels in the blood.