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CompletedNCT05826054MbAUpdated Sep 2, 2026

Montbretin Clinical Trial in Healthy Volunteers and Type 2 Diabetics

A Phase 1 interventional study of Montbretin A in Type 2 Diabetes, sponsored by Robert Petrella. Completed at 1 site in Canada. Open to participants aged 19 Years to 65 Years, including healthy volunteers. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-09-02.

Sponsored by Robert Petrella · Phase 1, Interventional, and Treatment

Phase
Phase 1
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
15
Allocation
Not applicable
Ages
19 Years to 65 Years
Sex
All
01

Study summary

The goal of this clinical trial is to test the investigational product, Montbretin A (MbA) in either individuals with type 2 diabetes (T2D) or healthy participants.

The main questions it aims to answer are:

  • Safety of MbA
  • Whether MbA has less side effects in comparison to other medications used to treat T2D

Participants will:

  • Be given MbA at increasing amounts (10 mg to 300 mg) over a two-week treatment period, along with standardized meal;
  • Undergo testing, including blood draws, blood sugar checks, electrocardiogram (ECG) and questionnaires.
Read the detailed description

BACKGROUND: Diabetes is an increasingly common disease that affects 6% of the population. It is a chronic metabolic disorder because the body cannot produce enough insulin or cannot respond well to insulin to control the amount of sugar in the blood. Insulin is a hormone secreted by the pancreas that increases the ability of tissues to absorb blood glucose. After a meal, our body will break down the nutrients in the food we eat, such as carbohydrates. These smaller nutrients are then absorbed in our small intestine into our blood. Without proper insulin function, our body is unable to lower the blood sugar and use the blood sugar correctly, leading to high blood sugar (also known as hyperglycemia). Over time, this can lead to complications in the eyes, nervous system, kidney and heart.

One type of diabetes medications, alpha-glucosidase inhibitors (AGIs), prevent blood sugar spikes (period of out of control high blood sugar levels) in diabetic patients after a meal. This type of medication prevents breakdown of carbohydrates into small sugars that can be absorbed in the gut. AGIs usually work well in preventing blood sugar spikes, but they have a number of side effects such as increased gas, bloating and diarrhea. Because of this, patients usually do not follow the recommended schedule for taking AGIs, which means the medications wont work as well.

The Study Treatment ("Montbretin A") provides another way to control blood sugar spikes after a meal. This method targets an enzyme (substance produced by body to help break down substances) found in the small intestine called human pancreatic amylase (HPA), which helps in the first step of breaking down carbohydrates. The Study Treatment works by blocking HPA from performing its function. This could potentially be used to treat T2D by preventing the initial breakdown of carbohydrates, which can lead to less sugars absorbed to the blood and better blood sugar control. MbA will lead to larger pieces of carbohydrates passed to the colon, reducing the speed of gas produced. This might lead to reduced stomach upsets.

MAIN AIM: To test the safety and tolerability (in terms of stomach-related side effects) of MbA in humans.

METHOD: This is an open-label, first-in-human, single-arm, single-center Phase I clinical trial. Participants will receive increasing dose of MbA (starting from 10 mg to 300 mg) with a standardized meal during the two-week treatment period (Weeks 1 and 2), with follow-up visits scheduled in Week 3 (one week after treatment completion) and Week 12 (nine weeks after treatment completion).

Participants are expected to participate for up to 13 weeks. This include one screening visit (one week prior to start of treatment), 2 weeks of treatment (3 visits per week for a total of 6 visits), and 2 follow-up visits (one week and nine weeks after completing treatment).

The tests that will be done in this study include:

  • One blood draw at each visit
  • Electrocardiogram (ECG), at screening and the first follow up visit
  • Blood sugar checks, including one finger prick and continuous glucose monitoring using a device at screening and each treatment visit
  • Questionnaire regarding gastrointestinal symptoms
  • Gastro-Intestinal Diary (GID), which needs to be filled in daily after screening and up to one week after treatment period.
02

Conditions studied

  • Type 2 Diabetes

Keywords

  • Type 2 diabetes
  • Montbretin A
  • Type II Diabetes Mellitus Without Complication
  • Noninsulin-Dependent Diabetes Mellitus
  • Healthy participants
03

In context

Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2

9,359 studies on the registry are indexed under Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2; 1,318 are open to participants now.

This study's enrollment of 15 is below the median of 80 across 7,525 interventional studies indexed under Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2.

Browse Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 studies →

Lead sponsor

This is the only study on the registry with Robert Petrella as lead sponsor.

Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.

04

Who can participate

Ages eligible
19 Years to 65 Years
Sexes eligible
All
Accepts healthy volunteers
Yes

Inclusion criteria

  • Male or female, age ≤ 65 years; ≥19 years;
  • Have diagnosed type-2 diabetes mellitus with HbA1C between 6.5% to 11% that is currently managed by diet and no other medications or healthy volunteers defined as not having diagnosis of type-2 diabetes mellitus.
  • Have routine and normal dietary habits that include three meals a day;
  • Normal hematological parameters as determined through an in-person screening blood draw including HbA1C >4.0% in healthy volunteers.
  • Use of an effective barrier method of birth control throughout the study, surgical sterility, or menopausal for at least 2 years;
  • In the study team's opinion, capable of understanding the visit schedule requirement and study medication dosing requirements.
  • Be able to avoid all supplements that affect blood sugar for the duration of the study eg. chromium, bitter melon, thiamine, berberine, alpha-lipoic acid, devil's claw, horse chestnut, fenugreek, ginseng, psyllium, cinnamon, garlic and panax.

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Currently in poor health, as determined by the study doctor
  • Currently on medication, except vitamins and/or birth control
  • Not eating three regular meals a day
  • Current or a history of impairment of gastro-intestinal function, including but not limited to inflammatory bowel disease, colonic ulceration, and/or partial intestinal obstruction
  • Travelled to a foreign country less than four (4) weeks prior to study entry;
  • Surgery less than four (4) weeks a prior to study entry;
  • Pregnant or lactating women;
  • Planning to participate in other investigational drugs while participating in the study;
  • Known allergy to study medication or its components (non-medicinal ingredients); and
  • A history of noncompliance to medical regimens or inability or unwillingness to return for all scheduled visits
05

Study design

Phase
Phase 1
Primary purpose
Treatment
Allocation
Not applicable
Intervention model
Single group
Masking
None (open label)
Enrollment
15 participants (actual)

Study arms

  • Experimental
    Intervention

    In this study, participants will receive increasing dosages of the Study Treatment (Montbretin A, MbA) at each treatment visit. The Study Treatment will be taken with a standardized meal (a meal that has specified quantities of carbohydrates, fats and proteins). At each visit, participants will receive one dose (in pill form) of MbA. As long as they are not experiencing any side effects, this dose will be gradually increased at each study visit (starting from 10 mg, 25 mg, 50 mg, 100 mg, 200 mg, to 300 mg MbA).

    Dietary Supplement: Montbretin A

Interventions

  • Dietary supplementMontbretin A

    The investigational product is 95% pure montbretin A (MbA), a glycosylated acyl-flavonol isolated from the corms (bulbs) of the Crocosmia plant through hot water extraction. It is a potent and specific inhibitor of human pancreatic amylase (HPA).

06

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. Maximum tolerated dose (MTD)

    The MTD is defined as the minimum dose that results in a dose limiting toxicity in the form of gastro-intestinal adverse events (relevant flatulence and/or diarrhea as determined by the Gastrointestinal Symptom Rating Scale) in 33% of the test subjects.

    Time frame: 2 weeks

07

Study locations

1 site
  • VCHRI Clinical Research Unit
    Vancouver, British Columbia V5Y2S7, Canada
08

References and documents

Individual participant data

Plan to share: No

No publications or documents are linked to this record.

09

Updates

Tracking since Sep 25, 2026
No changes since tracking began. The registry record was last updated on Sep 2, 2026, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
10

Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT05826054
Lead sponsor
Robert Petrella
Collaborators
Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research, Canadian Glycomics Network (GlycoNet) - Networks of Centres of Excellence (NCE)
Responsible party
Robert Petrella (Professor and Head (Chair), Department of Family Practice, University of British Columbia) — Sponsor-investigator
First posted
Apr 24, 2023
Start date
Dec 1, 2023
Primary completion
Nov 25, 2025
Completion
Nov 25, 2025
Last update
Sep 2, 2026

Study contacts

Robert Petrella, MD, PhD
principal investigator · University of British Columbia

Oversight

Data monitoring committee
No
FDA-regulated drug
No
FDA-regulated device
No
View the source record on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

Not currently enrolling

This study is completed, as verified in Aug 2026. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.

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