Effect of Polysaccharides (pectins) on Postprandial Glucose

Abstract

The cultivar Ghars is the second cultivar of economic importance for Algeria. It’s a soft date. So far, the only product derived from this date is “date’s syrup”. This product is developed by diffusion. The date is a food rich in nutrients. It is known that the consumption of carbohydrate foods causes different elevations of blood sugar. Some studies classify dates as a high glycemic food. The objective of this study is to follow the evolution of the postprandial glycemia of these foods and to characterize them nutritionally. This analysis is carried out according to the method recommended by FAO. Fourteen healthy, non-diabetic volunteers participated in the test. The results show a peak of control hyperglycemia (glucose) is significant (1.82 g / l ± 0.25) compared to dates (1.30 g / l ± 0.20) and their syrup (1.55 g / l ± 0.1), because glucose is a simple carbohydrate, its absorption is fast. These results are explained by the composition of these foods in polysaccharides (date 4.15% ± 0.02) (syrup 3.86% ± 0.38). Since polysaccharides facilitate intestinal transit, slow gastric emptying and slow the absorption of glucose. These results likely suggest that dates of this cultivar could be non-hyperglycemic food.