Post –Prandial Glucose Response to Ficus religiosa Based Products in Normal Subjects and their Outcome on Glycemic Index

The glycemic index (GI) provides an indication of carbohydrate quality whereas glycemic load (GL) provides carbohydrates quantity in a food and the insulin demand. Diet with low glycemic index and load have been shown to improve glucose tolerance on normal healty subjects so there is a need for a more diversified range of foods with a low glycemic response. The objective of present work was to formulate Ficus religiosa based food products by utilizing their leaves and bark powder as an ingredient and their post prandial responses on normal healthy subjects. The products (Biscuits, Dal samose and Bati) were developed by incorporated 5 % and 10% religiosa leaves, bark and their equiproportioned blends. The result showed that the products with 10% leaves and 5% bark were insignificant (P?0.05 level) which were comparable with standard and acceptable by semi trained panels. Further, study was conducted on randomly selected 25 healthy subjects were fed two most acceptable test recipes; Dal samose, and Bati and their post prandial glucose response were anticipated. GI and GL values were found to be lowest for 10% leaves incorporated Dal Samose (35 & 13) when compared to 5% bark incorporated Bati (53 &20). While comparing test products with standard products (wheat flour) it was found that dal samose had GI (41) and GL (15). Thus the inclusion of religiosa powder as an ingredient can be used to achieve a wider range of low glycemic functional foods possessing sensory attributes that could be valuable for managing the diabetes mellitus.