title: Influence of ripeness of banana on the blood glucose and insulin response in type 2 diabetic subjects.
abstract: Banana is a popular and tasty fruit which often is restricted in the diet prescribed for diabetic patients owing to the high content of free sugars. However, in under-ripe bananas starch constitutes 80-90% of the carbohydrate content, which as the banana ripens changes into free sugars. To study the effect of ripening on the postprandial blood glucose and insulin responses to banana, 10 type 2 (non-insulin-dependent) diabetic subjects consumed three meals, consisting of 120 g under-ripe banana, 120 g over-ripe banana or 40 g white bread on separate days. The mean postprandial blood glucose response area to white bread (181 +/- 45 mmol l-1 x 240 min) was significantly higher compared with under-ripe banana (62 +/- 17 mmol l-1 x 240 min: p < 0.01) and over-ripe banana (106 +/- 17 mmol l-1 x 240 min: p < 0.01). Glycaemic indices of the under-ripe and over-ripe bananas differed (43 +/- 10 and 74 +/- 9: p < 0.01). The mean insulin response areas to the three meals were similar: 6618 +/- 1398 pmol l-1 x 240 min (white bread), 7464 +/- 1800 pmol l-1 x 240 min (under-ripe banana) and 8292 +/- 2406 pmol l-1 x 240 min (over-ripe banana). The low glycaemic response of under-ripe compared with over-ripe bananas may be ascribed to the high starch content, which has previously been found to be only hydrolysed slowly by alfa-amylase in humans.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
authors.affiliation: Department of Endocrinology and Diabetes, Aarhus Amtssygehus, Denmark.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Hermansen
authors.forename: O
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Rasmussen
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Gregersen
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Larsen
mesh_terms: D001786:Blood Glucose / Q000378:metabolism*; D003924:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 / Q000097:blood*; D004040:Dietary Carbohydrates; D005260:Female; D005638:Fruit / Q000737:chemistry; D006801:Humans; D007328:Insulin / Q000097:blood* / Q000378:metabolism; D000078790:Insulin Secretion; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D013213:Starch; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D001786:Blood Glucose; D004040:Dietary Carbohydrates; D007328:Insulin; D013213:Starch