Glycemic, NEFA and Insulinemic Responeses to Molasses Based and Sucrose Based Cakes (PITHAS) in Type 2 Diabetic Subjects

Abstract

Glycemic index (Gi), C-peptide index (Cl) and NEFA index (Nl) are important and
useful measurement of serum glucose, insulin and NEFA response to a dietary
component. This study was undertaken to detemine the Gl, Cl and Nl of two traditional
pithas; one baked, locally known as Vapa pitha (VP), and another fried, locally known as
Poa pitha (PP). VP was prepared using rice flour, molasses and coconut while PP was
prepared with rice flour, sugar, and oil. Eighteen subjects, 9 male and 9 female (mean age
HbA|C 40±6.60 years and mean plasma HbAiC of 7.68±1.17 mmol/dl) had participated in
the study, under a crossover design. They consumed equicarbohydrate of the test meal
and bread, with a run-in period of 7 days between the consecutive items.
Both of the pithas showed significantly higher blood glucose levels compared to
bread. The area under the glucose response curve (AUGC) of bread, VP and PP were
1625, 1755, and 1922 mmol/1/120 min respectively. Compared to PP, VP showed
significantly lower AUGC. The trend of higher glycemic response of VP and PP was
reflected in their inlsulinamic responses as revealed from postprandial serum levels of Cpeptide.
But mean area under C-peptide curve, AUCC of VP (513) was found lower than
that of bread (568) and PP (688). Except NEFA index, both Gl and Insulinemic index
(equivalent to C-peptide index) were found higher in PP compared to VP. The results
thus suggests that VP is a better choice for diabetic patients.