Abstract

PIMIENTA-BARRIOS, Eulogio et al. Effect of Xoconostle (Opuntia joconostle Web.) fruit consumtion of glucose and seric lipids. Agrociencia [online]. 2008, vol.42, n.6, pp.645-653. ISSN 2521-9766.

In México, Opuntia spp. plants have traditionally been used for alternative treatment of diabetes mellitus (DM), actually considered an increasing problem of public health. Opuntia ficus-indica is the most used and studied plant; other species, like Opuntia joconostle Web. have not been studied from the clinical point of view. The objective of this paper was to evaluate the effect of xoconostle (O. joconostle) fruit peel consumption on seric glucose and lipids. The study has been conducted in two phases, the first one with participation of healthy people, and the second with type 2 diabetes (DM2) patients. It was observed that peel consumption caused statistically significant decrease of cholesterol and seric triglycerides in healthy people, and increase of both seric glucose and insulin as compared to no consumption. Insulin and glucose increase in healthy people does not seem to be a consequence of secretagogue content in xoconostle fruits, because they has low content of sugars and proteins. In participants with DM2, xoconostle consumption diminished glucose concentration and increased insulin. One of the most important conclusions of this study is that regular consumption of xoconostle fruit peel can be useful for seric glucose control in individuals with DM2. In healthy people, it may help to prevent conditions of hy perglycemia and high cholesterol and triglyceride levels, which may be related to metabolic syndrome.

Keywords : Opuntia joconostle; diabetes mellitus; glucose; insulin; triglycerides; C-peptide.