Effects of Adding Date Seed Flour to White Flour on Glycemic Index and Satiety Index of White Bread

Foods with low glycemic index (GI) and high satiety index (SI) have been associated with decreased risk of chronic diseases and obesity. This study investigated the effect of date seed flour (DSF) on the GI, glycemic load (GL), and SI of white bread (WB).

Ten healthy subjects were examined on four different days within 3-6 days intervals to determine GI and GL. The blood sugar level was measured during fasting, and 15, 30, 45, 60, 90, and 120 min after receiving glucose, WB, and breads containing 20% and 40% DSF, and GI and GL were calculated. To determine SI, 20 healthy individuals consumed 240 kcal portions of test breads in separate instants at 3-6 day intervals. The satiety ratings were collected at fasting and every 15 min for over 120 min after food ingestion, and SI was calculated.

The GI of breads containing 20% (52.64) and 40% (49.11) DSF was significantly lower than that of WB (73.9) (p<0.004, p<0.005, respectively). Also, the GL of breads containing 20% (9.45) and 40% (7.32) DSF was lower than that of WB (p<0.001, p<0.001, respectively). The SI of breads containing 20% (200) and 40% (290.79) DSF was significantly greater than that of WB (p<0.001, p<0.001, respectively). Finally, the SI of bread containing 40% DSF (290.79) was greater than that of bread containing 20% DSF (200) (p<0.01).

Replacing part of white wheat flour with DSF significantly reduces the GI and GL and increases the SI of WB.