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.
Key findings of the study include:
- Extracts decreased the glucose diffusion in a range of 18%–56% compared with the negative control.
- Extracts inhibited α‐amylase (above 80%) and α‐glucosidase enzymes (above 90%).
- All groups treated with P. ixocarpa calyxes' significantly reduced the glucose levels at 120 min (infusion = 13.3%, M Water = 12.7%, and US Water = 19.4%) in comparison with the negative control, and similar levels to acarbose at 120 min (13.1%).
- Extracts showed IC50 values in a range of 2.5–6.6 µg/µl for radical scavenging, and 118–199 µg/µl for lipid oxidation.
"Our results show that P. ixocarpa calyxes' extracts induce hypoglycemia and antioxidant effects in vitro and in vivo," concluded the authors.
About Green Tomato
The green tomato is usually consumed in Mexico, the United States, and Central America. This fruit grows inside a calyx, which is considered an agro‐food waste. However, some regions of Latin America have a traditional medicine purpose for diabetes affections.
To the best of our knowledge, there are no published data that supports its blood sugar lowering action. The information provided will be useful to nutraceutical applications that allow value‐added products and sustainable green tomato production.
The study titled, "Hypoglycemic and antioxidant effects of green tomato (Physalis ixocarpa Brot.) calyxes' extracts," is published in the Journal of Food Biochemistry.
