Fig 5. Post-meal glycemic curve of T2DM patients without or with raw cinnamon.

(A) Mean blood glucose (mg/dL) and (B) mean Δ blood glucose (difference between post-meal blood glucose and fasting blood glucose) of T2DM men throughout 120 minutes after eating a standardized meal alone (Control) or after prior ingestion of 3 g of raw cinnamon in capsules (3gCaps), 6 g of raw cinnamon in capsules (6gCaps), 3 g of raw cinnamon powder dissolved in water (3gPowder), or 6 g of raw cinnamon powder (6gPowder). The line at the value of 180 mg/dL (10 mmol/L) indicates the level up to which renal glucose reabsorption is preserved at physiological rates [200–202] and insulin therapy is not yet necessary [203, 204]. The line at the value of 200 mg/dL (11.1 mmol/L) indicates the 1-h post-meal threshold used to diagnose T2DM [205] and strongly associated with metabolic disturbances [206]. The line at the value of 63 mg/dL (3.5 mmol/L) indicates the maximum mean blood glucose rise achieved by healthy individuals after ingesting 50 g of carbohydrate from 27 tested foods [194]. The post-meal blood glucose levels along the glycemic curve were significantly decreased by raw cinnamon ingested in the form of powder (p ≤ 0.042), independently of the dose (p > 0.05), but not in the form of capsule (p ≥ 0.159) (two-way ANOVA with repeated measures). The levels of post-meal Δ blood glucose along the curve were significantly decreased by raw cinnamon ingested in the form of powder (p ≤ 0.013) and in the form of capsule (p ≤ 0.020), independently of the dose (p > 0.05), and the decreases caused by the form of powder were significantly stronger than by the form of capsule (p ≤ 0.003).