Abstract
L-arabinose is a bio-active compound derived from the side-streams of plant food processing. L-arabinose lowers glycemic and insulinemic responses when added to simple water-based sugary liquids. However, the effect in more complex foods, including fat and starch, is inconsistent. This study assessed the effect of fat or starch in a sugary drink on the efficacy of L-arabinose. Twenty-three healthy volunteers (12 female/11 male; aged 24 ± 3 years; BMI 23 ± 3 kg/m2) participated in a randomised cross-over trial with six drinks: control: 50 g sucrose in water; fat: control + 22 g oil; starch: control + 50 g starch; and all three with and without the addition of 5 g L-arabinose. The addition of L-arabinose to the control drink lowered glucose and insulin peaks by 15% and 52%; for the fat drink by 8% and 45%; and for the starch drink by 7% and 29%. For all three drinks, adding L-arabinose increased glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1) responses and lowered Glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide (GIP) responses. Despite adding large quantities of starch and fat to sugary drinks, L-arabinose significantly lowered postprandial glycemic and insulinemic responses in healthy subjects. These findings suggest that L-arabinose can be functional in more complex foods; however, the factors affecting its efficacy in solid food matrices need to be studied in more detail.
Highlights
Worldwide, more than 463 million people are currently diagnosed with diabetes and 374 million with impaired glucose tolerance [1]
The advantage of adding L-arabinose to a sucrose-rich product is that the sweet taste is maintained and that other sensory properties, such as texture and mouthfeel, are not affected
This study shows that L-arabinose addition to sugar-sweetened drinks, even with other nutrients present, such as fat or starch, flattens the blood glucose, insulin, and Glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide (GIP) response curves and increases glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1) concentrations in circulation in healthy subjects
Summary
More than 463 million people are currently diagnosed with diabetes and 374 million with impaired glucose tolerance [1]. Several clinical guidelines advise diabetic patients to especially incorporate foods with a low GI into their diets [4,5,6]. Simple sugars, such as sucrose, are often added to foods for their sweet taste. They are known for their fast and high postprandial glycemic responses. The food industry has a high interest in novel functional ingredients that can lower the glycemic potency of sugar-rich foods without compromising the food’s sweet taste and other food properties such as texture. Sucrase is present in the brush border of the intestine and critical for hydrolysing sucrose into a glucose and fructose molecule [9]
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