Antihyperglycemic and hypolipidemic effect of yellow-fleshed cassava/wheat flour composite bread in high fat/streptozotocin induced diabetic rats

Yellow -fleshed cassava flour (CF) and wheat flour (WF) composite bread was prepared in various proportions of 100:0 (100% CF), 50:50 (50% CF:50% WF), 20:80 (20% CF:80% WF), 10:90 (10% CF:90% WF), and 0:100 (100% WF) and flavored with 2 g of cocoa powder (FL). Forty male Wistar rats, weighing 170-200 g were divided into eight groups of five animals each. Rats in the control group were fed with the basal diet, and other rat groups were fed with high fat diet (30% fat) for two weeks prior to injection with 25 mg/kg body weight of streptozotocin (STZ) for the induction of type-2 diabetes. Thereafter, the diabetic rats were subsequently placed on different formulated breads for two weeks, while the positive control rats were placed on acarbose (25 mg/kg/body weight) in addition to the composite bread for the time the experiment lasted. The blood glucose of the rats was checked every four days, and the rats were sacrificed using cervical dislocation at the end of the experiment. The blood was rapidly collected through a heart puncture, and the plasma was rapidly separated while the liver was excised, rinsed, and subsequently homogenized prior to the assessment of the lipid profile, and the pancreas histopathology was carried out. The result revealed that 100% CF bread + FL (98.00 mg/dl) significantly (p < 0.05) lowered blood glucose levels in diabetic rat as compared to the acarbose (240.50 mg/dl) and the control rats. Furthermore, there were significant (p < 0.05) elevation in HDL-cholesterol and a concomitant decrease in LDL-cholesterol in the plasma of diabetic rats fed with 100% CF bread + FL as compared to the control. This study suggests that composite bread from vitamin-A enriched cassava and wheat flour may represent safe and effective functional foods with antihyperglycemic and hypolipidemic effects.