Postprandial glycaemic and appetite responses to cookies following in-corporation of Stevia and Moringa leaf powder

Abstract

Background/objective: Medicinal plants including Stevia and Moringa constitute an important source of health-beneficial bioactive components and hence, their intake may beneficially modulate biomarkers of chronic diseases. Therefore, the objective of the present study was to investigate the effect of cookies incorporating stevia and Moringa leaf powder on postprandial glycaemia, appetite, palatability and       gastrointestinal wellbeing in humans. Design and methods: In a randomized   crossover design, twenty healthy subjects consumed three iso-caloric test foods (each providing 50 g available carbohydrates) of control cookies (CC), stevia leaf-containing cookies (SC) and Moringa leaf-containing cookies (MC) as breakfast. Blood glucose and subjective appetite were measured at fasting and over 2 hours after consumption of the cookies. Palatability and gastrointestinal wellbeing were measured using standard questionnaires. Results: Compared to CC, MC resulted in a significant  decrease in postprandial blood glucose concentration at 30 and 45 min (P = 0.002 and P = 0.003, respectively) and showed a tendency (P = 0.077) for lower blood glucose incremental area under the curve (iAUC). Subjects were significantly less hungry  after SC and MC intake (P= 0.035 and P= 0.041, respectively) compared to CC. In addition, the SC resulted in significantly (P = 0.037) lower hunger incremental area over the curve (iAOC) compared to CC. All the cookies were liked by the subjects without any reported gastrointestinal discomfort. Conclusion: In conclusion, the  results showed that compared to CC, MC improved postprandial glycaemia and reduced hunger, while SC reduced hunger only. Future studies are now warranted to explore the mechanisms responsible for these observed effects.