Research synthesisLow evidenceSmall effect4 studies · 1 beneficial · 3 neutral · 0 harmful
Across 4 studies, 1 reported a beneficial effect and 3 reported neutral effects on blood cholesterol, with a predominantly small effect size. The beneficial finding came from a systematic review of patients with type 2 diabetes, but the majority of higher-quality evidence (including a 2025 meta-analysis of 7 RCTs) found no significant reductions in total cholesterol or LDL-C. Most studies lacked detailed dose reporting and varied in duration, limiting the ability to define a standard effective dose.
- Studied populations: patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus
Caveats: Available evidence is limited (only 4 studies) — conclusions should be considered preliminary. Many of the included studies did not reach statistical significance — effect may be smaller than the predominant direction suggests. The single beneficial study was limited to type 2 diabetes patients, so results may not generalize to healthy populations or other clinical groups. Doses and forms were not consistently reported across studies.
Generated Jun 15, 2026