Abstract

Background: Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a chronic metabolic disease with an increasing prevalence over the world. Aim and
Objective: This research aimed to analyze the effect of strawberries, Rome beauty apples, and their combination on the low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) levels of Type 2 DM patients.
Materials and Methods: This study was experimental research with randomized pre- and post-test group design. The subjects were 44 patients with Type 2 DM divided into four groups, namely, K (control, no treatment), P1 (200 g/day strawberry), P2 (300 g/day Rome beauty apple), and P3 (combination of 100 g/day strawberries and 150 g/day Rome beauty apple) for 14 days.
Results: The results showed that the LDL-C level in DM patients was markedly high in all groups before the treatment. Treatment with only strawberry, Rome beauty apple and its combination significantly decreased the level of LDL-C compared to the control group. Furthermore, treatment with 300 g/day of Rome beauty apple exhibited a high decrease in LDL-C level compared to other treatment groups. Conclusion: These findings suggested that strawberries, Rome beauty apples, and their combinations could be used as promising functional food for DM therapy by lowering LDL-C levels.