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17.07.2025

Antidiabetic effect of propolis equals that of metformin

Like cinnamon and berberine, propolis has antidiabetic effects. According to a meta-study published in the Journal of Diabetes & Metabolic Disorders, the effect of propolis is comparable to that of metformin.

Study
Iranian researchers affiliated with five different universities tracked 13 previously published trials in which participants with type 2 diabetes had received propolis supplements. The quality of the studies was good. The researchers combined the results of these trials and reanalyzed them.

The dosage ranged from 226 to 1500 milligrams of propolis per day.

The duration of administration varied from 8 to 24 weeks.

Results
Propolis supplementation resulted in an average weight loss of 2 kilos. This was especially true at relatively low doses. Subjects who received only a few hundred milligrams of propolis even lost more than 3 kilos. At these lower doses, LDL levels also decreased slightly.

More relevant and convincing were the antidiabetic effects of propolis. Fasting blood glucose [FBG] levels decreased by more than 15 milligrams per deciliter. This is a clinically significant target value. The target value for type 2 diabetes is 130 milligrams of glucose per deciliter. If you are 15 points above this, propolis supplementation can make a significant difference.

Click on the figures below for a larger version.

The HOMA-IR, a measure of insulin resistance, decreased by one point with supplementation. This is clinically significant.

HbA1C, a measure of glucose exposure over a longer period, decreased by 0.58 percent with propolis administration. Diabetologists consider a decrease of more than half a percent clinically significant. A commonly used first-line antidiabetic drug like metformin usually reduces this value by 0.5 to 1.5 percent.

Finally, propolis also lowered fasting insulin levels by 2 points. This is a modest effect, but relevant.

The measured effects are quite strong. They are comparable to those of metformin. This is evident from the table below, in which we compared the diabetological effects of propolis with those of metformin.

The effects of propolis, of course, come from the Iranian meta-study. We found the effects of metformin in a recent meta-analysis published by researchers from Shanghai Jiao Tong University in China in the British Journal of Sports Medicine. [Br J Sports Med. 2024 Dec 2;58(23):1452-60.] We found a single value in the pre-print of that study. [MedRxiv 2024.01.22.24301604.]

Click on the table for a larger version.

Active substances
The researchers suspect that substances like caffeic acid phenylethyl ester [CAPE] in propolis inhibit the universal inflammatory molecule NF-kB in cells. This makes cells more sensitive to insulin. At the same time, propolis inhibits the enzyme glucose-6-phosphatase, which causes the liver to produce less glucose and lowers blood glucose levels.

Conclusion
"Propolis supplementation may offer meaningful benefits as an adjunctive therapy for individuals with type 2 diabetes mellitus," the researchers summarize. "The overall metabolic improvements highlight propolis as a promising complementary intervention alongside standard pharmacologic and lifestyle therapies."

Source:
J Diabetes Metab Disord. 2025 Jul 12;24(2):164.

More:
Propolis increases insulin sensitivity 06.06.2019

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