Abstract
An eight-week long-term administration trial was performed to evaluate the clinical effectiveness and safety of white skinned sweet potato (WSSP) for 26 individuals with impaired fasting glucose and mild type 2 diabetes mellitus. None of them were receiving drug therapy. WSSP was given as tablets, which were prepared after being lyophilized and powdered. The subjects were divided into two groups; one group was given the WSSP tablets, and the other was given placebo tablets. The results indicated that subjects given the WSSP tablets at 14.4g/day (0.826mg/day WSSP glycoprotein as the active ingredient) achieved significant reductions in fasting plasma glucose levels (127.0±7.1mg/dL→116.8±16.3mg/dL, Wilcoxon test: p<0.05). This reduction was significantly different from that in the subjects given the placebo (Mann-Whitney test: p<0.05). These observations support the usefulness of WSSP for the health care of individuals with impaired fasting glucose and mild type 2 diabetes mellitus.
