Lowering glycemic index of food by acarbose and Plantago psyllium mucilage

ABSTRACT

Background. Astudy was designed to evaluate the effect o acarbose and Plantago psyllium mucilage on glycemic index (GI) of bread. Methods. Twelve patients with non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM) and ten healthy volunteers were studied. Three meal tests with an intake of 90 g of white bread (50 g of carbohydrates) were performed on each subject. In one test, 200 mg of acarbose was given, while 15 g of P. psyllium mucilage was given in another test, and only bread was ingested in the control test. Serum glucose and insulin concentrations were measured every 30 min from 0-180 min. Net area under curve (AUC) concentrations of glucose and insulin, GI and insulinic index were calculated. Results. In NIDDM patients, AUC-glucose in the test with acarbose (1.9 ñ 0.7 mmol/L) and with P. psyllium (4.3 ñ 1.2 mmol/L) were significantly lower than in the control test (7.4 ñ 1.5 mmol/L= (p<0.01). GI of bread plus acarbose was 26 ñ 13, and of bread plus P. psyllium, 59 ñ 10 (p<0.05). AUC-insulin and insulinic index behave similarly. In healthy individuals, AUC-glucose and GI did not significantly change with the treatments; however, insulinic index with acarbose was 17 ñ 16, and with P. syllium decreased GI of bread in NIDDM patients and siminished insulinic index in NIDDM ad in healthy subjects. Conclusions. Adding acarbose or P. syllium to meals may reduce glycemic index of carbohydrate foods and may help diabetic control