The objectives of this work were to verify if eggplant diets exhibit a hypoglycemic effect, if these diets contribute to the post-prandial delay of glucose absorption and if the soluble fiber fraction (pectin) correlates with these effects. Male, adult Wistar rats, both normal and diabetic (alloxan induced) were fed diets based on casein, eggplant with and without the peel and eggplant peel for a 42 days. Blood glucose was determined at the onset of the experiment and at 13, 21, 34 and 42 days. Glucose tolerance oral tests were performed at the end of the experiment. Diets based on eggplant with peel flour and eggplant peel flour showed a significant reduction of plasma glucose levels, but this effect was not observed in the peeled eggplant diet. Diabetic animals consuming the diet based on eggplant with peel exhibited a lesser area under the glucose curve than the other control groups receiving the diets based on casein and eggplant-with-peel and the casein control group. In the animals that received the diets based on peeled eggplant and the eggplant peel, this effect was not observed. It is concluded that the compound responsible by the hypoglycemic effect is present in the peel of the eggplant. It is also concluded that soluble pectin in the diets was not in itself sufficient to promote this effect, but that the continuous administration of the soluble fiber contributed to the improvement of the glucose tolerance.
diabetes; hypoglycemic effect; soluble pectin; eggplant
