glycemic control by exercise and urtica dioica supplements in men with type 2 diabetes

Background: type 2 diabetes is a metabolic disease in which hyperglycemia is a major symptom, and is associated with numerous vascular and non-vascular complications. people with diabetes use medicinal treatment to exert glycemic control, as well as exercise training and herbal remedies, such as urtica dioica (ud). objectives: this study aimed to compare the effects of 8 weeks of aerobic training and ud supplementation alone, and in combination, on glycemic control in men with type 2 diabetes mellitus (t2dm). patients and methods: this semi-experimental study was conducted in 2014, in the city of dezful, iran. a total of 40 males (aged 30 - 50 years) with t2dm were selected and randomly divided into one of four groups in equal numbers (n = 10): 1 - aerobic training (ae), 2 - ud supplements (ud), 3 - a combination of aerobic training and ud supplements (ae + ud), and 4 - a control group. blood samples were taken 24 hours before and 48 hours after the intervention period, following 10 - 12 hours of fasting. a t-test and analysis of variance was used to analyze the changes in the measured parameters, and p ≤ 0.05 was considered statistically significant. results: a significant decrease in fasting blood sugar (fbs) was observed in the ae group (-9.50 ± 6.96 mg/dl; p = 0.002), the ud group (-7.60 ± 6.04 mg/dl; p = 0.001), and the ae + ud group (-18.30 ± 6.63 mg/dl; p < 0.001) after 8 weeks. there was a significant difference in fbs between the three intervention groups and the control group. in addition, a significant difference in fbs (p < 0.05) was shown between the ud and ae + ud groups. conclusions: the findings confirmed the positive influence of ud supplements and aerobic training on glycemic control in males with t2dm. when aerobic training was combined with a ud supplement, a greater degree of glycemic control was observed.