Cactus (Opuntia Streptacantha) Soluble Dietary Fiber Suppress Elevation of Postprandial Blood Glucose Levels in Type II Diabetes Rats

The present paper was attempted to examine the effect of a water-soluble dietary fiber (SDF) extracted from Opuntia Streptacantha (OpS) on postprandial blood glucose level. A OpS-SDF was extracted from the hot-dried OpS powder . An elevation of the postprandial blood glucose level in GK rats ( a Type II diabetes model animal ) given 0.2, 1 or 2% OpSSDF solution orally together with 20% glucose solution was significantly suppressed as compared with that observed in the control rats given only glucose solution. The diffusion rate of glucose and the permeation rate of glucose in the cultured CACO-2 cells were significantly reduced by the addition of OpS-SDF as compared to the control. Further, in the examination on the physico-chemical characteristics of OpS-SDF , we obtained that the glucose diffusion inhibition rates of the 0.2 or 0.5% OpS-SDF solution was markedly high compared with that of pure water. The viscosity of 2% OpS-SDF solution was found to be about 3,000 times high compared with that of pure water . It was revealed that OpS-SDF in OpS is a kind of mucilaginous SDF and has the significant suppressing effect for elevation of postprandial blood glucose level.