The effect of grapes/grape products on glycemic response: A systematic review and meta‐analysis of randomized controlled trials

The aim of this study was to perform a systematic review and meta‐analysis of randomized clinical trials (RCTs) to examine the effect of grapes/grape products supplementation on glycemic indices in adults. Our systematic search to find relevant RCTs was performed up to February 2020 using PubMed, Scopus, ISI Web of Science, Cochrane Library, and Google Scholar. Based on the heterogeneity between included studies, a random effects or a fixed model was applied in the meta‐analysis, and results were expressed as weighted mean differences (WMD) with 95% confidence intervals (CI). Twenty‐nine clinical trials (1,297 participants) fulfilled the eligibility criteria of the present meta‐analysis. Overall, the grapes/grape products supplementation significantly reduced homeostatic model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA‐IR) (WMD: −0.54, 95% CI: −0.91, −0.17, p = . 004) but did not affect fasting insulin levels (WMD: −0.90 μIU/ml, 95% CI: −1.04, 2.84, p = .362) and hemoglobin A1C (Hb1Ac) percentage (WMD: 0.00%, 95% CI: −0.10, 0.11, p = . 916) in the main analyses. In addition, changes to fasting blood glucose (FBG) levels were in favor of the control group (WMD: 1.19 mg/dl, 95% CI: 0.05, 2.34, p = .041). We found that giving grapes/grape products to adults might have beneficial effects on the HOMA‐IR. Further, large‐scale RCTs with longer duration are required to confirm these results.