Preliminary analysis of the effect of Stevia (Stevia rebaudiana) in patients with chronic kidney disease (stage I to stage III)

Abstract

BackgroundStevia, Stevia rebaudiana (Bertoni), has become an important economic plant for its commercial use as a sweetener. Stevia plays a significant role in the healthcare practice of different cultures and in population. Previous animal and clinical studies demonstrated the efficacy of Stevia against chronic diseases like diabetes and hypertension. This study aimed to investigate the beneficial effect of Stevia in chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients after three (3) months of treatment along with the conventional antihypertensive and anti diabetic medications.MethodsA prospective, interventional, randomized, single-blind, placebo-controlled trial has been done with 97 participants. Stevia capsule (250 mg) or matching placebo was given to the participants twice daily along with Angiotensin-II Receptor Blocker (ARB) and/or Ca2+ Channel Blocker (CCB). First follow up visits were done after 3 months of the interval. Blood and urine samples were collected for the biochemical tests. A structured questionnaire was used for the baseline assessment. Informed consent was taken from each participant.ResultsBoth hypertension and diabetes were found to be associated with CKD. Most of the participants (52.3%) of Stevia group were in CKD Stage II. Significant changes were found in Serum creatinine (p < 0.027), Serum Uric acid (p < 0.009), Fasting blood sugar (p < 0.041) and Postprandial blood sugar (p < 0.013) and Microalbumin (p < 0.041) level in the treatment group.ConclusionThe initial result demonstrated that Stevia has the potential for a significant improvement of some biochemical parameters in CKD patients. After completion of the nine (9) months clinical trial, the constructive effect of Stevia can be confirmed in this group of patients.

Renoprotective effects of stevia (Stevia rebaudiana Bertoni), amlodipine, valsartan, and losartan in gentamycin-induced nephrotoxicity in the rat model: Biochemical, hematological and histological approaches

“…Stevia showed a beneficial effect in reducing serum biochemical parameters and tissue damages. Our preliminary clinical study in CKD patients also supported this outcome [25]. The mechanisms of renoprotective effects of stevia might be multimodal, via the reduction of inflammation through other neuro-hormonal pathways.…”

“…However, the outcomes of the treatment of stevia on gentamycin-induced nephrotoxicity are yet to be published. Furthermore, initial results of our clinical study showed that stevia improved the biochemical parameters like serum creatinine and serum uric acid levels in CKD patients [25].…”

Effect of Steviol Glycosides on Human Health with Emphasis on Type 2 Diabetic Biomarkers: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials

“…Six hundred and seventy-seven nonduplicate studies were obtained from electronic searches, out of which 17 eligible studies were identified (Figure 2). A total of 10 studies were excluded due to incompatible data ( n = 4 [14,21,22,41]) and inappropriate study design ( n = 6 [25,42,44,56,57,58]). Seven studies comprising nine RCTs and a total of 462 participants were included in this review [15,16,17,18,19,43,59].…”

Stevia: limiting cholesterol synthesis in Hep-G2 cells

“…The slight difference of IC50 could be due to the presence of steviol glycosides percentages in the commercialized product and the solvent used. According to the guidelines by FDA and EFSA, stevia extracts must contain at least 95% of steviol glycosides (Rizwan et al, 2018). In this study, the content of steviol glycosides in commercialized stevia was 70% while the remaining was suspected to be adulterant which could be a reason to low IC50 determined from the current study.…”

“…Phytochemicals of interest known as steviol glycosides that made up of stevioside, rebaudioside (A, B, C, D, E, and F), and dulcoside presented in the plant at a different amount (Salazar et al, 2018). The two major bioactive components of steviol glycosides; Stevioside and rebaudioside A were found at 5-10% and 2-4%, respectively that are 200-400 times sweeter than the regular sucrose (Rizwan et al, 2018;Rizzo et al, 2013). Due to their potent sweetness, the extracts are being incorporated in food and beverages to replace sucrose as well as dietary supplements in several countries (Shukla et al, 2009).…”