Effectiveness of traditional Chinese medicine Jinlida granules as an add‐on therapy for type 2 diabetes: A system review and meta‐analysis of randomized controlled trials

Abstract Background Jinlida granules are a commonly prescribed oral medication in China used in combination with antidiabetic drugs to lower blood glucose. The aim of this study was to systematically identify and pool the findings of randomized controlled trials evaluating the effectiveness and safety of Jinlida granules as add‐on therapy for glycemic control in type 2 diabetes (T2D). Methods The China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), Wang Fang, PubMed, China biology medicine (CBM), and VIP Database for Chinese Technical Periodicals (VIP) databases were searched for papers regarding the effects of Jinlida granules in T2D published before 1 July 2018. A pooled analysis of extracted data was performed using random‐effects models. Results In all, data were retrieved for 15 studies including 1810 individuals. Decreases in HbA1c were greater in groups receiving Jinlida granules as add‐on therapy compared with control groups (n = 1820; mean difference − 0.66; 95% confidence interval − 0.72, −0.60; P < 0.00001; I 2 = 38%). In addition, Jinlida granules reduced body mass index and had beneficial effects on homeostatic model assessment of β‐cell function and homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance. No obvious adverse events were reported. Conclusions Findings from this meta‐analysis demonstrate additional benefits of Jinlida granules as an add‐on therapy for T2D and that Jinlida granules are generally safe. Treatment with Jinlida granules provided clinically and statistically significant reductions in fasting plasma glucose, 2‐hour post‐load glucose, and HbA1c levels in patients with T2D. However, the findings should be interpreted with caution due to the small sample size and study limitations.