Comparative Effects of Cane Sugar, Honey & Jaggery on Plasma Glucose Level & Body Weight of Alloxan Induced Diabetic Rats

Abstract

Introduction: Diabetes mellitus is characterized by hyperglycemia with impaired metabolism of carbohydrates, fats, and proteins resulting from insufficiency of secretion or action of insulin. The interplay of genes and environmental factors is believed to stress glucose homeostasis. Simple dietary and lifestyle modifications have a role in prevention and slow progression of the disease. The choice and role of sweeteners (sugars) such as ordinary cane sugar, honey, and jaggery have always been a difficult decision for patients with Type 2 diabetes.
Aims & Objectives: Evaluation and comparison of the effects of cane sugar, honey, and jaggery on plasma glucose in the sera and body weights of alloxan-induced male Wistar rats with diabetes.
Place and duration of study: The study was conducted at the animal house of Services Institute of Medical Sciences Lahore for a duration of 20 months approximately.
Material & Methods: In this experimental study 120 male Wistar (albino) rats were randomly allocated into 4 groups of 30 each. After acclimatization, freshly prepared 2% alloxan monohydrate was administered to all the rats via intraperitoneal injection in a single dose of 120mg/kg body weight. Blood sample via tail tipping method was analyzed for fasting serum glucose at 4th post-diabetes induction day. Rodents having ? 200mg/dl serum glucose were regarded as type 2 diabetes models for further study. All animals had access to usual pelleted diet ad libitum. Diabetic controls in group I were fed with equivalent amount of distilled water. Group II, III and IV rats were fed freshly prepared sweetener containing cane sugar, honey and jaggery solutions respectively in a dose of 1g/kg body weight dissolved in 2ml distilled water on pre-scheduled time of the day for 28 days via oral syringe-dosing. Final serum glucose was estimated at 29th
day of study by terminal blood sampling and final body weights were recorded. Data analysis was performed using SPSS version 20.
Results: Group III (honey fed) rats had least hyperglycemia of 34.53±77.31mg/dL, followed by group II (cane sugar fed) rats (79.31±73.03 mg/dL) then group I diabetic control rats (88.11±92.56mg/dL) and maximal rise in jaggery fed rats with value of 134.50 mg/dL. Significant reduction (p=0.049) in body weight (-40.50g) was noted in group II rats whereas maximum weight gain occurred in group I (127.57 ±72.475), than those of group IV rats (69.13 ± 92.88) followed by II rats (38.42±89.43).
Conclusion: The result demonstrates that honey in type 2 diabetes mellitus possess antidiabetic properties via minimum hyperglycemic and weight gaining effects than processed cane sugar. As it was presumed, minimally processed jaggery has not shown significant beneficial effects on serum glucose and body weight. Owing to the advantageous effects on metabolic profile, honey may be regarded as a relatively safer sweetener in diabetics.