ABSTRACT
This study was designed to investigate the effect of oral intake of yogurt on plasma glucose and serum lipid profile levels (total cholesterol, triglyceride, high density lipoprotein and low-density lipoprotein) in apparently healthy stu-dents. A total of 30 subjects (16 males and 14 females) were recruited to serve as both test and control groups. Each subject was advised to abstain from milk and similar probiotic food consumption for three weeks. Baseline samples (after an overnight fast and 2 hours postprandial after oral intake of carbohydrate meal) were collected from both males and females at day 0 as control samples, and levels of glucose and lipid profile were evaluated. Subsequently, in addition to their normal diet, each of the subjects received 100ml of yogurt daily for 21 day. After an overnight fast, post research (test 1stand 2nd) samples (fasting blood sample and 2 hours postprandial after oral intake of carbohydrate meal) were collected on days 11 and 22 respectively and the levels of glucose and lipid profile were re-evaluated. Blood glucose and lipid concentrations were determined using standard methods. There was significant increase in mean serum triglyceride (TG) value 11days following yogurt intake (intermediate consumption) when compared to baseline level (0.63±0.15 Vs 0.53±0.19; p<0.05). Also, there was a significant decrease in mean serum TG value 21 days following yogurt intake (post consumption) when compared to baseline and intermediate levels (0.50±0.19 Vs 0.53±0.19 and 0.50±0.19 Vs0.63±0.15; p<0.05) respectively. There was a significant increase in mean serum high density lipoprotein (HDL) value 21days following yogurt intake when compared to day 11 (intermediate consumption) and baseline levels (1.36±0.34 Vs 1.14±0.24 and 1.36±0.34 Vs 0.99±0.19; p<0.05) respectively. Also, there was a significant increase in mean serum total cholesterol (TC) value 21 days following yogurt intake when compared to day 11 and baseline levels (p<0.05) respectively. The low-density lipoprotein (LDL) level remained unchanged 11 and 21 days following yogurt intake (p>0.05). There was significant increase in the mean blood glucose level (p<0.05). In conclusion, this study has shown that the lipid profile and blood glucose levels in individuals consuming yogurt may experience significant alterations which may have important clinical implications in the management of diabetes. Fur-ther studies may be necessary in understanding the mechanism behind theses effects.
ABSTRACT
Background: The study evaluates the beneficial effects or otherwise of Gongronema latifolium (utazi) consumption on plasma lipid profile and blood glucose in healthy subjects. Methods: The study was conducted on twenty (20) apparently healthy subjects (10 males and 10 females), within the age range of 20-55years who were randomly recruited from Nnamdi Azikiwe University Teaching Hospital (NAUTH) staff and medical students in Nnewi Campus. Twenty experimental subjects (10 males and 10 females) were fed with 5g/day of fresh Gongronema latifolium leaves for six weeks. Blood samples were collected at baseline and every week for six weeks and the biochemical parameters analyzed using standard laboratory methods. Results: There were significant reductions in the levels of plasma glucose (3.85 ± 0.14 vs. 4.92 ± 0.31 mmol/l), cholesterol (3.60 ± 0.43 vs. 4.56 ± 0.67 mmol/l), triglycerides (0.73 ± 0.19 vs. 0.96 ± 0.20 mmol/l), Low Density Lipoprotein Cholesterol (LDL-C) (1.97 ± 0.48 vs. 2.70 ± 0.67 mmol/l) and LDL-C/High Density Lipoprotein Cholesterol (HDL-C) ratio (1.32 ± 0.44 vs. 2.11 ± 0.72 mmol/l) of the subjects that were fed with Gongronema latifolium leaves for six weeks compared with their baseline values; all P <0.05. Conclusion: The result of this study showed that Gongronema latifolium has hypoglycemic and hypolipidemic effect on healthy subjects and might be beneficial for the management of diabetes mellitus and cardiovascular diseases.