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Review
. 2021 May 26;20(1):973-988.
doi: 10.1007/s40200-021-00793-4. eCollection 2021 Jun.

The effects of dietary/herbal supplements and the serum levels of micronutrients on the healing of diabetic foot ulcers in animal and human models: a systematic review

Mohammad Reza Amini  1   2 , Maryam Aalaa  3   4 , Ensieh Nasli-Esfahani  2 , Rasha Atlasi  3 , Mahnaz Sanjari  5 , Nazli Namazi  2
Affiliations
Review

The effects of dietary/herbal supplements and the serum levels of micronutrients on the healing of diabetic foot ulcers in animal and human models: a systematic review

Mohammad Reza Amini et al. J Diabetes Metab Disord. .

Abstract

Purpose: Diabetic Foot Ulcer (DFU) is one of the common and serious complications in patients with Diabetes Mellitus (DM) worldwide. Given the considerable tendency of patients suffering from DFU to use the complementary therapies, the objectives of this study were to: (i) summarize the effects of dietary and herbal supplements on DFU characteristics and metabolic parameters in both animal models and clinical trials, and (ii) evaluate any links between the serum levels of micronutrients and DFU in observational studies.

Methods: A systematic search in five electronic databases including PubMed/Medline, Scopus, Web of Science, Embase, and Cochrane Library was conducted to find relevant English language published from 1990 until 31 December 2018.

Results: Of a total of 8603 studies, 30 eligible papers including animal studies (n = 15), clinical trials (n = 7), and observational works (n = 8) were included in the systematic review. We found that some dietary/herbal supplements and micronutrients had positive effects on the wound healing. However, limited evidence is existed. Also, lower serum levels of vitamin D, C, vitamin E, and selenium in patients with DFU were likely to increase the risk of DFU, leading to impaired wound healing.

Conclusion: Findings suggested that some dietary and herbal supplements such as Vitamin D, Magnesium, Vitamin E, Probiotic, Zinc, and Pycnogenol would be effective on wound healing of DFUs. However, further high-quality randomized controlled clinical trials and prospective cohort studies are needed to clarify the roles of micronutrients and other dietary and herbal supplements on the progress and treatment of DFU.

Keywords: Diabetic foot; Medicinal herb; Micronutrient; Supplement; Systematic review.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of interestThe authors declared that they have no conflict of interest.

Figures

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Fig. 1
Paper selection for the present systematic review
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