ABSTRACT
Fructooligosaccharide (FOS) is a prebiotic, becoming apparent for its therapeutic role for diseased conditions like CHD, hypertension, diabetes and obesity. CHD and hypertension are one of the most prevalent NCD’s encountered in diabetic adults. Present study aims to assess the effect of FOS supplementation in type 2 diabetic adults on their lipemic, biophysical parameters and gut microflora parameters. A cross-sectional study was designed with 65 adult type 2 diabetics enrolled from Health clinic of The M.S. University of Baroda, Gujarat. All the subjects were randomly divided into two groups control and experimental. The experimental group was given 10 g of fructooligosaccharide and compared with the controls for lipemic parameters, hypertension and fecal counts in terms of lactic acid bacteria, bifidobacteria and enteric pathogen. Eight week supplementation of FOS resulted in an appreciable reduction in serum TC, TG and LDL levels by 10%, 4.9% and 7.8% respectively. A significant reduction (p<0.05) in systolic blood pressure was also observed as a result of FOS supplementation in the experimental group. A decline was seen in TC/HDL, LDL/HDL and non-HDL by 10.4%, 7.6% and 6.6% respectively (p<0.05, p<0.001). Gut microbiota values exhibited a significant increment in fecal log10 counts of Lactic acid bacteria and bifidobacteria by 9.3% and 10.9% respectively (p<0.001) while a significant reduction by 4.8% (p<0.001) was observed for Enteric pathogen. These outcomes revealed an efficacy of FOS in reducing serum lipid parameters, systolic BP and improving the gut microbiota in type 2 diabetic adults.