Insulin resistance improvement by cinnamon powder in polycystic ovary syndrome: A randomized double-blind placebo controlled clinical trial

Background: Our aim is to assess the effect of cinnamon powder capsules on insulin resistance, anthropometric measurements, glucose and lipid profiles, and androgens of women with polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS)Method: Out of 80 women that were diagnosed as PCOS by Rotterdam Criteria, 66 were enrolled in this randomized double-blind placebo-controlled clinical trial. All of the PCOS women were taking medroxy progesterone acetate 10 mg/day for the last 10 days of their menstrual cycles. The cases were randomly allocated to 2 groups. The women in the first group were treated by cinnamon powder capsules 1.5 g/day in 3 divided doses for 12 weeks and the second group by similar placebo capsules. Anthropometric measurements, fasting blood sugar, fasting insulin, blood glucose 2 hr after taking 75 g oral glucose, HbA1c, testosterone, dehydroepiandrosterone sulphate, homeostatic model assessment for insulin resistance, triglyceride, and cholesterol (low-density lipoprotein, high-density lipoprotein, and total) before and after the intervention were evaluated and compared as outcome measuresResult: Fasting insulin (p = .024) and homeostatic model assessment for insulin resistance (p = .014) were reduced after 12 weeks in the cinnamon group compared with the placebo. There was also a significant decrease in low-density lipoprotein in cinnamon group (p = .004) as compared with baseline that caused significant difference with placebo (p = .049). However, changes in other outcome measurements did not lead to statistically significant difference with placebo.Conclusion:The present results suggest that complementary supplementation of cinnamon significantly reduced fasting insulin and insulin resistance in women with PCOS.Keywords: HOMA-IR، cinnamon، fasting insulin، insulin resistance، polycystic ovary syndrome