Antiretroviral drugs can have adverse effects. Most are manageable, but some can be serious. The aim of this clinical study is to evaluate the potential benefits of taking Moringa oleifera on body mass index (BMI), blood triglyceride and High density lipoprotein (HDL) level in patient taking Tenofovir/Lamivudine/efavirenz (TLE) combination. The study was designed as a Longitudinal Randomized Comparative Trial (LRCT) involving 140 HIV adult subjects (56 males, 84 females) who have been on Tenofovir/Lamivudine/efavirenz (300/300/600mg) TLE combination for at least 6 months prior to the study. They were recruited from a Teaching Hospital in Nigeria. Moringa oleifera capsules (200mg) were administered by the subjects to be used beginning from the first day of visit 0, through visit 1 (after four weeks) and 2 (after 12 weeks). Blood samples of subjects were collected at each visit (visit 0, 1 and 2) and analyzed for triglyceride and HDL level.There was no significant reduction in serum HDL level (P<0.01) of subjects in visit 1 but there was significant (P<0.01) increase on visit 2 when compared to visit 0. There was also significant improvement in blood triglyceride level (P<0.01) in visit 1 and 2 compared to visit 0 of tenofovir/Lamivudine/Efavirenz (TLE) moringa combination. Results from the study suggests that Moringa oleifera may be useful in improving triglyceride and cholesterol level of patients receiving TLE combination.
Keywords: Moringa oleifera, Tenofovir, blood, glucose, triglyceride
