Green tomatoes useful in diabetes as they lower blood sugar and Oxidative stress: Study

Mexico: Green tomato (Physalis ixocarpa calyxes) can induce hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) and antioxidant effects in vitro and in vivo, finds a recent study in the Journal of Food Biochemistry. The findings suggest that green tomato can be useful for diabetes patients as they may lower blood sugar and Oxidative stress.

People with diabetes are required to keep a check on their carbohydrate intake as intake of refined carbohydrates causes blood sugar spike due to their quick metabolism.

Tomatoes are non-starchy and have a low glycaemic index and is therefore a good option for help control blood sugar in diabetes patients.

Juliana Morales Castro, Instituto Tecnológico de Durango, Durango, Mexico, and colleagues aimed to evaluate the hypoglycemic and antioxidant potential of the green tomato (P. ixocarpa Brot.) calyxes' extracts.

Maceration (M), ultrasound‐assisted (US), and infusion were used to obtain the extracts. Regarding in vitro hypoglycemic evaluation, glucose diffusion assay and enzymatic inhibitory action of α‐amylase and α‐glucosidase were performed. For in vivo assessment, an oral starch tolerance test (OSTT) was tested with aqueous extracts [infusion (40 mg/kg b. wt.), maceration (M) water (98 mg/kg b. wt.), and US water (82.24 mg/kg b. wt.)] on male Wistar rats. In vitro antioxidant activity of P. ixocarpa calyxes' was evaluated through inhibition of scavenging radical assay and lipid peroxidation.