Abstract
The effect of indigestible dextrin obtained by heat-moisture treatment of HCl-adsorbed corn starch on glucose tolerance was investigated in rats with streptozotocin-induced diabetes. Rats were made diabetic by injecting 2-day-old neonates with 80mg/kg streptozotocin. The diabetic rats showed obvious diabetic symptoms such as hyperglycemia, glucosuria and impaired glucose tolerance. From 57 days of age, the diabetic rats were given a diet containing a 4% level of cellulose or a 5.7% level of indigestible dextrin for 58 days. As a control, normal rats were given the diet containing cellulose. The glucose tolerance of diabetic rats fed the indigestible dextrin diet was significantly better than that of diabetic rats fed the cellulose diet. Oral sugar tolerance tests in healthy rats showed that administration of indigestible dextrin with sucrose suppressed the increase in the blood glucose level, whereas glucose did not. In vitro enzyme tests indicated that indigestible dextrin inhibited sucrose and maltase activities in the rat intestinal mucosa. The ameliorating effect of indigestible dextrin on glucose tolerance in the diabetic rats was considered to be due mainly to its α-glucosidase inhibitory activity.
