Effects of Whole Oleaster Fruit Powder on Glycemic and Satiety Indices of Sugar Free Biscuits

Consumption of foods with low glycemic index (GI) decreases risks of chronic diseases and obesity. In the present study, effects of whole oleaster fruit powder (WOP) on GI, glycemic load (GL) and satiety index of plain biscuits prepared from white wheat flour were investigated.

In this randomized crossover study for assessing GI and GL, ten healthy individuals consumed one of three types of biscuits (plain, with 25% WOP and 50% WOP) or glucose solution on four various days at one-week intervals. Blood sugar was assessed at fasting and 15, 30, 45, 60, 90 and 120 min after eating the biscuits and then GI and GL were calculated. To assess SI, 20 healthy individuals consumed either white bread (reference food) or one of the three biscuits on four various days at one-week intervals. Satiety was assessed in the fasting state and every 15 min to 2 h after eating. Then, SI was calculated.

The GI of plain biscuits was in the upper range (71.7) which decreased to the lower range (50 and 42.9, respectively) by substitution of 25 and 50% WOP (p < 0.001). Glycemic load of plain biscuits decreased from the upper range (12.03) to the lower range (7.60 and 5.38, respectively) (p < 0.001). Satiety index of 50% WOP biscuits (114.65) increased significantly, compared to that of plain biscuits (91.81) (p < 0.05).

Replacing whole oleaster fruit powder with white wheat flour not only decreased GI and GL of simple biscuits, but also significantly increased their satiety indixes.