A sixty two years-old male patient was directed to take Lespedeza bicolor water extract (LWE) for three months every morning along with prescription drug (Lantus Solostar) for the management of type 2 diabetes mellitus. He was also directed to monitor fasting plasma glucose (FPG) and A1C. He continued taking LWE for seventy four days but discontinued the extract. During the seventy four days, the change in FPG was not significant in the beginning. However, FPG decreased gradually and the trend was identified by least square regression analysis of the plot (FPG versus days of LWE taking plot, y=-1.0711x+257.56). Notably, however, the A1C was significantly decreased from baseline (11.5%) to 8.1% after taking the extract. This result indicates that LWE appears to inhibit glycation of hemoglobin although glucose-lowering effect is not as strong as currently marketed antiglycemic agents.

Keywords: Lespedeza bicolor, diabetes mellitus, fasting plasma glucose, A1C, glycation