EVALUATION OF BUCKWHEAT FOR MANAGEMENT OF DIABETES

Background: Diabetes mellitus is a genetic and endocrine system disease that creates injurious health effects not in Pakistan but throughout the world. Several functional compounds are present in buckwheat which has distinct biological properties of cholesterollowering, anti-hypertension, improving constipation and obesity. The recent research was directed to study the nutritional and hypoglycemic effect of buckwheat in Type 2 diabetic rats induced by alloxan. Methods: Two varieties of buckwheat were examined for their nutritional composition and mineral content according to the methods of AACC (2000) while antioxidant activity was measured by using DPPH and a spectrophotometer. Alloxan induced diabetic mice were applied to investigate the blood-glucose-lowering effect of common buckwheat extract (CBE) and Tartary buckwheat extract (TBE). After type 2 diabetic induced rats were separated randomly into three groups. Results: The results revealed that Common buckwheat flour (CBF) contains12. 93% crude protein, 2.39% crude fat, 9.42% crude fiber and 2.90% ash content, while Tartary buckwheat flour (TBF) contains14.88% crude protein, 3.47% crude fat, 12.03% crude fiber, and 2.86% ash content. TBF contains significantly higher minerals as compared to CBF and also exhibited higher antioxidant activity. The results for diabetes-induced mice showed a significant difference for fasting blood glucose level, glucose tolerance test and body weight among control diabetic mice (group I) and diabetic mice given the CBE (group II) and TBE (group III). The fasting blood glucose level of group I increased while it decreased in group II and group III over time. Group II and group III had more glucose tolerance as compared to group I. Conclusion: The present study demonstrated that TBF contains higher nutritional contact as compared to CBF. Furthermore, it was indicated that the oral administration of CBE and TBE could lower the blood glucose level and can increase glucose tolerance effectively.