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Effects of a beverage containing an enzymatically induced-viscosity dietary fiber, with or without fructose, on the postprandial glycemic response to a high glycemic index food in humans

European Journal of Clinical Nutrition volume 57, pages 1120–1127 (2003)Cite this article

Abstract

Objective: Dietary supplementation with guar gum or fructose has been reported to reduce the postprandial glycemic response to an oral glucose challenge. As a result of the poor palatability of most foods containing guar gum, a novel low-viscosity beverage with guar gum was developed that becomes viscous in vivo through an enzymatic induction. The primary study objective was to determine the effect of an amylase-induced viscosity (I-V) product, with or without supplemental fructose, on the postprandial glycemic response to a high glycemic index test meal in healthy nondiabetic subjects.

Design: The study was a four-treatment, placebo-controlled, double-blind, randomized block protocol.

Setting: The study was performed at Glycaemic Index Testing, Inc., Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

Subjects: A total of 30 healthy nondiabetic volunteers (13 male, 17 female, mean±s.e.m. age of 51±3 y and body mass index of 24.2±0.4 kg/m2) participated in the study.

Interventions: In the morning after an overnight fast, subjects participated in four 3-h meal glucose tolerance tests on separate occasions. The test meals contained 50 g of available carbohydrate from maltodextrin and white bread (control) or the same meal with either 5 g of guar gum (3.6 g galactomannan), 5 g of fructose, or 5 g of guar gum +5 g of fructose.

Results: Treatments containing guar gum had a reduced (P<0.01) baseline-adjusted peak glucose response and incremental area under the glucose curve. In contrast to previous studies, fructose increased (P<0.05) the baseline-adjusted peak glucose concentration.

Conclusions: Guar gum incorporated into an amylase I-V product provided a means to stabilize blood glucose levels by reducing the early phase excursion and then by appropriately maintaining the later phase excursion in healthy nondiabetic humans.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Ross Products Division, Abbott Laboratories, Columbus, OH, USA

    B W Wolf, C S Lai, K S Maharry & K A Garleb

  2. Department of Animal Sciences and OSU Nutrition Program, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA

    B W Wolf & J L Firkins

  3. Glycaemic Index Testing, Inc, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

    T M S Wolever, C Bolognesi & R Radmard

  4. School of Allied Medical Professions, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA

    S R Hertzler

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  1. B W Wolf
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  2. T M S Wolever
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  3. C S Lai
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  4. C Bolognesi
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  7. K A Garleb
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Contributions

Guarantor: BW Wolf.

Contributors: BWW was the person mainly responsible for all stages of the study, including the study design, discussion and interpretation of results and writing of the paper. TMSW, CB and RR were in charge of the medical management of subjects, administration of the meal tolerance test, sample collection and preparation, and glucose analysis. CSL carried out the development of the test products. KAG and JLF participated in the discussion and interpretation of the results. KSM completed the statistical analyses. SRH carried out the determination of breath hydrogen and methane.

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Correspondence to B W Wolf.

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Wolf, B., Wolever, T., Lai, C. et al. Effects of a beverage containing an enzymatically induced-viscosity dietary fiber, with or without fructose, on the postprandial glycemic response to a high glycemic index food in humans. Eur J Clin Nutr 57, 1120–1127 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.ejcn.1601652

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.ejcn.1601652

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