Evaluation of the Hypoglycemic Potentials and Glycemic Index of Ready-to-eat Breakfast Products Using Animal Bioassay

There is need for dietary diversification which involves the use of commonly available cereals, legumes and other nutritious crops to meet nutritional needs of diabetic patients. Dietary diversification could be used to ameliorate micronutrient deficiencies by modifying the diet to include a greater diversity of nutrient - rich foods. The major aim of this study was to produce and evaluate ready-to-eat breakfast product for diabetics from African yam bean (Sphenostylis sternocarpa), sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L.) and unripe plantain (Musa paradisiaca L.) flour blends. Flours were produced from sorghum, African yam bean and unripe plantain and blended in 100:0:0, 65:30:5, 60:30:10, 55:30:15, 50:30:20 and 45:30:25 ratio of sorghum: African yam bean: unripe plantain flour, respectively. Ready-to-eat breakfast products were produced from each blend by toasting at 150°C for 5 min. The products hypoglycemic and hypolipidemic potentials and effects on hematological parameters were evaluated using rat study. The fasting blood glucose (fbg) of the rats were significantly (p< 0.05) reduced after 3 weeks of treatment from 200 to 81.63 mg/dl. Rats fed sample SAUP5 (45:30:25) had the lowest mean fbg value of 81.63 mg/ml. The cholesterol level of rats fed sample SAUP5 (945:30:25) was reduced from 3.56 to 2.10 mg/dl, low density lipoprotein from 2.03 to 1.10 mg/dl, triglycerides from 1.03 to 0.63 mg/dl and high density lipoprotein was increased from 0.47 to 0.97 mg/dl. Liver function of rats fed sample SAUP4 (50:30:20) was reduced from 100 to 23 mg/dl, for Aspartate aminotransferase (AST), 49 to 23 mg/dl for alanine aminotransferase (ALT), and 33 to 19 mg/dl for alkaline phosphatase (ALP), respectively. Conclusion: The formulated ready-to-eat breakfast product was adequate for diabetic patients