Abstract
Nopal is a plant used in traditional Mexican medicine to treat diabetes. However,
there is insufficient scientific evidence to demonstrate whether nopal can regulate
postprandial glucose. The purpose for conducting this study was to evaluate the glycemic
index, insulinemic index, glucose-dependent insulinotropic peptide (GIP) index, and
the glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1) index, and the effect of nopal on patients with
type 2 diabetes after consumption of a high-carbohydrate breakfast (HCB) or high-soy-protein
breakfast (HSPB) on the postprandial response of glucose, insulin, GIP, GLP-1, and
antioxidant activity. In study 1, the glycemic index, insulinemic index, GIP index,
and GLP-1 index were calculated for seven healthy participants who consumed 50 g of
available carbohydrates from glucose or dehydrated nopal. In study 2, 14 patients
with type 2 diabetes consumed nopal in HCB or HSPB with or without 300 g steamed nopal.
The glycemic index of nopal was 32.5±4, insulinemic index was 36.1±6, GIP index was
6.5±3.0, and GLP-1 index was 25.9±18. For those patients with type 2 diabetes who
consumed the HCB+nopal, there was significantly lower area under the curve for glucose
(287±30) than for those who consumed the HCB only (443±49), and lower incremental
area under the curve for insulin (5,952±833 vs 7,313±1,090), and those patients with
type 2 diabetes who consumed the HSPB avoided postprandial blood glucose peaks. Consumption
of the HSPB+nopal significantly reduced the postprandial peaks of GIP concentration
at 30 and 45 minutes and increased the antioxidant activity after 2 hours measured
by the 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrilhidracyl method. These findings suggest that nopal could
reduce postprandial blood glucose, serum insulin, and plasma GIP peaks, as well as
increase antioxidant activity in healthy people and patients with type 2 diabetes.
Keywords
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Biography
P. López-Romero is an assistant researcher, Departamento de Fisiología de la Nutrición, Instituto Nacional de Ciencias Médicas y Nutrición Salvador Zubirán, Vasco de Quiroga, México.
Biography
E. Pichardo-Ontiveros is an assistant researcher, Departamento de Fisiología de la Nutrición, Instituto Nacional de Ciencias Médicas y Nutrición Salvador Zubirán, Vasco de Quiroga, México.
Biography
A. Avila-Nava is an assistant researcher, Departamento de Fisiología de la Nutrición, Instituto Nacional de Ciencias Médicas y Nutrición Salvador Zubirán, Vasco de Quiroga, México.
Biography
N. Vázquez-Manjarrez is an assistant researcher, Departamento de Fisiología de la Nutrición, Instituto Nacional de Ciencias Médicas y Nutrición Salvador Zubirán, Vasco de Quiroga, México.
Biography
A. R. Tovar is a professor, Departamento de Fisiología de la Nutrición, Instituto Nacional de Ciencias Médicas y Nutrición Salvador Zubirán, Vasco de Quiroga, México.
Biography
N. Torres is a professor, Departamento de Fisiología de la Nutrición, Instituto Nacional de Ciencias Médicas y Nutrición Salvador Zubirán, Vasco de Quiroga, México.
Biography
J. Pedraza-Chaverri is a professor, Departamento de Biología, Facultad de Química, Edificio F, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM), Ciudad Universitaria, Coyoacan, México.
Article info
Publication history
Published online: August 12, 2014
Accepted:
February 19,
2014
Footnotes
STATEMENT OF POTENTIAL CONFLICT OF INTEREST No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.
FUNDING/SUPPORT This study was supported by the Instituto de Ciencia y Tecnología del Distrito Federal, Fundación Produce 2010 and Nutriva de México S.A. de C.V. Aguascalientes, Ags. México. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.
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Copyright
© 2014 Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
