Biology Reference
In-Depth Information
are thought to be responsible for the biological activity in the treatment of
diabetes mellitus. Procyanidin of cinnamon could inhibit starch hydrolase
(
Liu et al., 2011
)
. In addition, A-type proanthocyanidins could enhance
the activity of insulin. The study of
Lu et al. (2011)
demonstrated that intake
of 1, 3, or 6 g of cinnamon per day reduced serum glucose, triglyceride, LDL
cholesterol, and total cholesterol in people with type 2 diabetes and suggested
that the inclusion of cinnamon in the diet of people with type 2 diabetes
would reduce risk factors associated with diabetes and cardiovascular diseases.
Hlebowicz and coauthors performed two series study to test the diabetes pre-
vention effect by adding different doses of cinnamon into rice pudding. The
intake of six grams of cinnamon reduced postprandial blood glucose and del-
ayed gastric emptying without affecting satiety (
Hlebowicz et al., 2009
)
. The
large quantity of proanthocyanidins used resulted in strong astringency taste.
Reducing the cinnamon dosage to 3 g significantly reduced postprandial
serum insulin and increased glucagon-like peptide-1 concentrations without
significantly affecting blood glucose, glucose-dependent insulinotropic poly-
peptide, ghrelin concentration, satiety, or gastric emptying rate (
Hlebowicz
4.2.3 Fenugreek
Fenugreek is a common condiment used in India. The antidiabetic proper-
1992; Sharma et al., 1996
). The hypoglycemic effect of fenugreek was
thought to be due to trigonelline, an alkaloid (
Jain, Lohiya, & Kapoor,
1987; Mishkinsky, Joseph, & Sulman, 1967
). Substantial evidence suggested
that the hypoglycemic effect of fenugreek was actually attributable to the
dietary fiber, which constitutes as much as 52% of fenugreek seeds
(
Srinivasan, 2005
)
. Losso and coauthors developed fenugreek bread by
incorporating 9% fenugreek seed flour into the standard wheat bread for-
mula. The result showed that the fenugreek bread had an effect on reducing
the insulin without a significant change in glucose level, although the insulin
sensitivity was improved (
Losso et al., 2009
)
.
Shakib & Gabrial, 2010
eval-
uated the postprandial glucose response in healthy subjects using five differ-
ent breads prepared by incorporating barley, fenugreek, or ginger as
ingredients. Barley and refined wheat (1:1 ratio) were used as the basic rec-
ipes, which were mixed with different dose of fenugreek and ginger. All bar-
ley bread tested induced a significant lower postprandial rise in glucose
response in healthy subjects when compared to wheat bread. Barley contains
