Glycemic response of Emblica officinalis powder-incorporated Indian recipes

Abstract

Purpose Glycemic index (GI) is a physiological basis for ranking carbohydrate foods based on the blood glucose responses they produce after ingestion. Emblica officinalis (E. officinalis) is a medicinal plant that purportedly has hypoglycaemic and hypolipidemic properties. This study aims to determine the glycemic and lipemic responses of freeze-dried E. officinalis powder-incorporated recipes. Design/methodology/approach Two sets of four equicarbohydrate (50 g) recipes (vegetable cutlet, handvo, muthiya and methi thepla) were developed, one without E. officinalis powder incorporation (standard) and one with E. officinalis powder incorporation at the 2 g level (test). After overnight fasting, 50 g glucose, standard and test recipes were administered to healthy adult volunteers at different instances (each 3–4 days apart) and blood glucose levels were measured using capillary sampling every 15 min for 2 h. The glycemic response and GI values were then calculated. Findings Among the standard recipes, lowest glycemic response was obtained by methi thepla (60.90 ± 15.54) and highest glycemic response by handvo (90.57 ± 33.88). Incorporation of E. officinalis powder brought about a non-significant reduction in the GI of methi thepla (p = 0.94), vegetable cutlet (p = 0.54), muthiya (p = 0.69) and handvo (p = 0.09). Maximum per cent reduction was for handvo, which shifted from the high to medium GI category. The lipemic response was lowest with muthiya, showing a fall in triacylglycerol (TG) levels (3.9%). E. officinalis powder incorporation in muthiya led to a further fall (7.8%) in TG levels. Originality/value Incorporation of freeze-dried E. officinalis powder in Indian recipes can bring about a reduction in the postprandial glycemic and lipemic responses.