Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Meta-Analysis
. 2023 Sep;6(5):e439.
doi: 10.1002/edm2.439. Epub 2023 Jul 19.

The effects of macro-algae supplementation on serum lipid, glycaemic control and anthropometric indices: A systematic review and meta-analysis of clinical trials

Shahla Rezaei  1   2 , Saeid Doaei  3 , Reza Tabrizi  4 , Saeed Ghobadi  2   5 , Morteza Zare  2 , Maryam Gholamalizadeh  6 , Zohreh Mazloom  7
Affiliations
Meta-Analysis

The effects of macro-algae supplementation on serum lipid, glycaemic control and anthropometric indices: A systematic review and meta-analysis of clinical trials

Shahla Rezaei et al. Endocrinol Diabetes Metab. 2023 Sep.

Abstract

Introduction: Macro-algae products have been shown to ameliorate the metabolic disorders state. Thus, highlighting their function as supplementary therapeutic agents can be a novel strategy for clinical therapies. This systematic review and meta-analysis of clinical trials aimed to summarize the effect of macro-algae consumption on serum lipid profile, glycaemic control and anthropometric factors.

Methods: In this systematic review and meta-analysis, a comprehensive search was performed for relevant studies published up to May 2023. The Cochran's Q test and I-square (I2 ) tests were used to evaluate heterogeneity across the included studies. The meta-analysis was conducted using random-effects model (DerSimonian and Laird), and weighted mean difference (WMD) was considered as the pooled effect size.

Results: Out of 8602 papers in the initial screening, eight clinical trials with a total of 438 participants were included into this meta-analysis. The results indicated that macro-algae supplementation significantly decreased serum levels of total cholesterol (TC) (WMD = -6.7 mg/dL; 95% CI: -12.59, -0.80; item = 0.026) and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-c) (WMD = -8.25 mg/dL; 95% CI: -15.38, -1.12; p-value = .023). There was an increase in level of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-c) (WMD = 0.48 mg/dL; 95% CI: -2.05, 3.01; p-value = .71) which was not statistically significant. Macro-algae supplementation reduced body mass index (BMI) (WMD = -0.28 kg/m2 ; 95% CI: -0.96, 0.41; p-value = .426), weight (WMD = -0.39 kg; 95% CI: -3.6, 2.83; p-value = .81), waist circumference (WC) (WMD = -0.52 cm; 95% CI: -2.71, 1.66; p-value = .64), fasting blood sugar (FBS) (WMD = -1.95 mg/dL; 95% CI: -5.19, 1.28; p-value = .24) and HbA1c (WMD = -0.02%; 95% CI: -0.14, 0.09; p-value = .66) in intervention group.

Conclusions: This meta-analysis indicated that macro-algae supplementation significantly decreased TC and LDL-c level. It can also increase HDL-c level and reduce anthropometric indices and glycaemic control factors.

Keywords: glycaemic control; integrative medicine; lipid profile; macro-algae; meta-analysis.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

All authors read the manuscript before the submission process, and they declared that there was no conflict of interest to list their name in this paper.

Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
Flow chart of the included studies, including identification, screening, eligibility and the final sample included.
FIGURE 2
FIGURE 2
The methodological quality of the included eligible studies (for each risk of bias item).
FIGURE 3
FIGURE 3
Forest plot assessing the effect of seaweed supplementation on studied outcomes (the p‐values are related to heterogeneity not outcomes).
FIGURE 4
FIGURE 4
Funnel plot assessing the publication bias.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

References

    1. Gutierrez J, Alloubani A, Mari M, Alzaatreh M. Cardiovascular disease risk factors: hypertension, diabetes mellitus and obesity among Tabuk citizens in Saudi Arabia. Open Cardiovasc Med J. 2018;12:41‐49. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Al‐Goblan AS, Al‐Alfi MA, Khan MZ. Mechanism linking diabetes mellitus and obesity. Diabetes Metab Syndr Obes. 2014;7:587‐991. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Rasouli H, Hosseini‐Ghazvini SM‐B, Khodarahmi R. Therapeutic potentials of the most studied flavonoids: highlighting antibacterial and antidiabetic functionalities. Studies in Natural Products Chemistry. 2019;60:85‐122.
    1. Popovic‐Djordjevic JB, Jevtic II, Stanojkovic TP. Antidiabetics: structural diversity of molecules with a common aim. Curr Med Chem. 2018;25(18):2140‐2165. - PubMed
    1. Olokoba AB, Obateru OA, Olokoba LB. Type 2 diabetes mellitus: a review of current trends. Oman Med J. 2012;27(4):269‐273. - PMC - PubMed

Publication types