Modulation of fasting blood glucose by raw banana powder in alloxan-induced diabetic rats

This study aimed to observe the influence of raw banana powder (RBP) on fasting blood glucose (FBG), blood lipid and other biochemical indicators in type-2 diabetic rats and therefore to provide experimental evidences for developing suitable food from banana powder for diabetic patients. Eight Sprague-Dawley rats were selected randomly as the normal control group (NCG) before the experiment. After establishing type-2 diabetic rat models (11.1-16.7 mmoL/L) by alloxan, 32 rats were divided into four groups: the diabetic control group (DCG, n=8), low-dose group (LDG, n=8), middle-dose group (MDG, n=8) and high-dose group (HDG, n=8). The LDG, MDG and HDG rats received gastric perfusion of RBP at the doses of 2 g/kg, 4 g/kg and 6 g/kg per day, respectively. After four weeks, oral glucose tolerance test was carried out in each group, and then the FBG level, blood lipid, insulin, short chain fatty acids content, pH value of colon content and other biochemical indicators of rats in each group were determined and compared among the groups. Results showed that the levels of FBG significantly decreased in the LDG (11.97+-0.83), MDG (8.95+-0.45) and HDG (9.28+-1.45), compared with their initial values (13.00+-1.25, 13.68+-0.75 and 13.91+-0.80, respectively). The FBG levels in these three groups were obviously lower than that in the DCG. However, there were no dramatic FBG changes in the NCG and DCG (5.77+-0.59, 14.14+-0.72) compared with the initial stage (5.55+-0.23, 13.93+-0.47). The RBP intervention increased insulin-sensitivity index and regulated postprandial blood glucose. Besides, RBP showed the positive effects on symptoms of type 2 diabetic rats, such as the reduction of weight gain and total cholesterol.