The effect of voglibose on metabolic profiles in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus: A systematic review and meta-analysis of clinical trials

[Display omitted] •The effect of voglibose on metabolic homeostasis is not well characterized.•Several studies have evaluated the effect of voglibose on various metabolic markers.•Pooled findings identified significant reductions in hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) and LDL-cholesterol levels.•No evidence of effect for voglibose intake on T2DM patients was observed for other parameters.•The current meta-analysis identified reduced HbA1c and LDL-cholesterol with administration of voglibose. The effect of voglibose on metabolic homeostasis is not well characterized. Therefore, we conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of clinical trials assessing the effect of voglibose on metabolic profile in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Systematic searches were conducted in PubMed, Scopus, Embase, Google Scholar, Web of Science and Cochrane Library to identify clinical trials assessing the effects of voglibose supplementation on cardio-metabolic profile from incept up to 29 July 2019. Data was pooled using fixed- or random-effect models and weighted mean difference (WMD) as the effect size. Eight clinical trials from 1094 reports, were eligible for inclusion. Pooled findings identified significant reductions in hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) (WMD= −0.27; 95 %CI −0.49 to −0.05; P = 0.01; I2 = 64.8 %) and an increase in LDL-cholesterol levels (WMD=5.97 mg/dl, 95 % CI 0.88, 11.06, P = 0.02; I2 = 0.0 %). However, no evidence of effect for voglibose intake on T2DM patients was observed for: fasting blood sugar (FBS) (WMD −7.43 mg/dl; 95 %CI -16.56 to 1.71; P = 0.110; I2 = 69.3 %), serum insulin (WMD= −0.15 μU/mL; 95 %CI −0.89 to 0.60; P = 0.70; I2 = 0.0 %), total-cholesterol (WMD=2.82 mg/dl, 95 %CI -2.36 to 8.01, P = 0.70; I2 = 49.7 %), triglycerides (WMD= −7.07 mg/dl, 95 %CI −21.76 to 7.62, P = 0.34; I2 = 0.0 %), HDL-cholesterol levels (WMD= −2.10 mg/dl, 95 %CI −4.48 to 0.27, P = 0.08; I2 = 0.0 %,), body mass index (BMI) (WMD=0.09 kg/m2, 95 %CI −0.70 to 0.87; P = 0.87; I2 = 0.0 %), body weight (WMD= −0.42 kg, 95 %CI −0.84 to 0.00; P = 0.05; I2 = 0.0 %), and adiponectin levels (WMD = 0.32 μg/mL, 95 %CI −0.74 to 1.38; P = 0.55; I2 = 0.0 %). The current meta-analysis identified a decrease in HbA1c and an increase in LDL-cholesterol with administration of voglibose. However, no significant effect was observed on FBS, insulin, bodyweight, BMI, adiponectin, triglycerides, total- and HDL-cholesterol levels.