The researchers from Helmholtz Zentrum Munchen and German Diabetes Center Dusseldorf have claimed that common diabetes drug Metformin can also help lower "bad" cholesterol that is known for promoting cardiovascular diseases by hardening the arteries.

To prove this the team analysed more than 1, 800 blood samples of participants and by using a comprehensive approach, the scientists investigated metabolic products as well as genetics of these participants. They found that the administration of Metformin in patients suffering from Type 2 Diabetes led to a change in metabolite levels.

They noticed that the drug is associated with a significantly decreased level of LDL cholesterol which allegedly promotes cardiovascular diseases by causing atherosclerosis.

"This is also supported by the fact that three lipid metabolites are decreased after taking the diabetes drug. Presumably, this is the mechanism how the production of 'LDL' cholesterol is repressed by Metformin," explained Dr Rui Wang-Sattler from the institute of epidemiology II of the Helmholtz Zentrum Minchen.

The study is published in the journal Diabetes Care.

By Lizitha