Hypoglycemic effect of biscuits produced from flour blends of three medicinal foods on high-fat diet-streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats.

The study evaluated the hypoglycemic effect of biscuits produced from flour blends of three medicinal foods (Unripe plantain fruits, Moringa seed, and pigeon pea) on high-fat diet (HFD)/streptozotocin (STZ)-induced (HFD/STZ) diabetic rats. The formulated biscuits were produced at different proportion of the flour blends and fed to HFD-STZ-induced diabetic rats for 14 days. The result showed that the formulated biscuits caused a significant increase in pancreas, liver, and kidney antioxidant molecules, decreased the production of thiobarbituric reactive acid species (TBARS) in pancreas, liver, and kidney homogenates, and reduced pancreatic α-amylase and intestinal α-glucosidase activities as against untreated diabetic rats. In conclusion, the use of formulated biscuits from the blends of flours from unripe plantain, Moringa seed, and pigeon pea could serve as functional food toward the treatment/management of diabetes and its possible complications such as diabetes-induced liver and kidney damage. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS: The drug use in the management of diabetes such as acarbose have been reported to have side effects, while diet therapy is gaining much interest in the management of diabetes. Hence, there is a need for diets base therapy that will not only cure diabetes, but also combat its complications. In sight of this, unripe plantain, Moringa seed, and pigeon pea flours were blended and used to produce functional biscuits for diabetic rats. The biscuit could be produced on the large scale under hygienic and regulated condition.