immediate glycemic response to four herbal teas in healthy adults

ABSTRACT

To determine the effect of herbal teas prepared from decocted cinnamon bark or fenugreek seeds, or from infused black tea or aniseed on the postpr and ial glycemic response of white bread. Oral glucose tolerance test for 2 hours was applied on seven healthy volunteers, each of whom served as his own control by first ingesting a portion of white bread containing 50 g of carbohydrates together with either 200 mL of plain water [reference] or with 200 mL of at least one of each of the herbal teas. Each herb was used in two concentrations [g per cup of 200 mL] 4 or 8 for cinnamon; 6 or 8 for fenugreek seed; 1.5 or 2.5 for black tea; and 6 or 12 for aniseed. Assuming the glycemic index [GI] of white bread as a reference is 100, the GI obtained for bread when consumed with the above-mentioned herbal teas in their respective doses and expressed as means +/- SEM [in percentages] were 54 +/- 7.3 and 55 +/- 7.0; 62 +/- 4.9 and 39 +/- 4.7; 81 +/- 5.2 and 72 +/- 7.1; and 93 +/- 4.0 and 72 +/- 4.2 respectively. The present study showed the immediate positive effect of all the above herbal teas in reducing the postpr and ial glycemic response of bread, and except for cinnamon, the higher dose for the three other herbs resulted in a further significant hypoglycemic effect of bread