Determination of glycaemic response to the consumption of two specialised formulas for glycaemic control

Abstract

To assess the glycaemic response after ingestion of two specialised oral and enteral nutrition formulas for glycaemic control. The participants were sixteen healthy volunteers, aged 21-49 years, with normal glucose tolerance. The volunteers attended the tests fasting for 10 h, for 5 weeks, and consumed the reference food - glucose solution - for 3 weeks, and the two formulas DiamaxO and DiamaxIG in the following weeks, in amounts equivalent to 25 g of available carbohydrates. During the period of 120 min, seven blood samples were taken through capillary blood sampling to determine the glycaemic response. The glycaemic index (GI) was calculated according to the trapezoidal rule, ignoring areas below the fasting line. The glycaemic load (GL) was determined by the formula GL = ((GI(glucose = reference) ×'g'of available carbohydrate per serving]/100. The formulas showed low GI and GL. GI = 37·8 and GL = 6·6 for DiamaxO and GI = 21·5 and GL = 3·5 for DiamaxIG. The peak of the glycaemic response occurred 30 min after ingestion, with a marked difference in blood glucose between the Diamax products in relation to glucose. Differences were also significant at times 15, 45, 60 and 90 min in relation to glucose (ANOVA with post hoc Bonferroni, P < 0·005), but not between the two products. However, the AUC and the GI of DiamaxIG are significantly smaller than that of the DiamaxO second t test (P = 0·0059). The glycaemic response to the products is quite reduced, presenting a curve with a little accentuated shape, without high peak, especially in the modified product.