Anthocyanins regulate serum adipsin and visfatin in patients with prediabetes or newly diagnosed diabetes: a randomized controlled trial

Background Epidemiological studies have suggested that adipsin and visfatin are associated with the development of type 2 diabetes. This is the first study to investigate the effects of supplementation with purified anthocyanins on serum adipsin and visfatin in patients with prediabetes or newly diagnosed diabetes. Methods A total of 160 participants with prediabetes or newly diagnosed diabetes (40–75 years old) were given 320 mg anthocyanins or placebo daily for 12 weeks in a randomized trial. Serum adipsin, serum visfatin, lipids and glycated hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) were measured. The areas under the curve (AUCs) for glucose, insulin and C-peptide were determined before-and after-treatment by a standard 3-h 75 g oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT). Results Relatively significant increases in serum adipsin (net change 0.15 µg/mL [0.03, 0.27], p = 0.018) and decreases in visfatin (−3.5 ng/mL [−6.69, −0.31], p = 0.032) were observed between the anthocyanins and placebo groups. We also observed significant improvements in HbA1c (−0.11% [−0.22, −0.11], p = 0.033), apolipoprotein A-1 (apo A-1) (0.12 g/L [0.03, 0.21], p = 0.012) and apolipoprotein B (apo B) (−0.07 g/L [−0.14, −0.01], p = 0.033) in response to the anthocyanins intervention. Conclusion Purified anthocyanins supplementation for 12 weeks increased serum adipsin and decreased serum visfatin in patients with prediabetes or newly diagnosed diabetes. Trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov, identifier: NCT02689765.