Abstract

Metabolic disorders characterized by different physiological syndromes are affecting modern society, particularly the people who live in urban areas. High sugar diet (HSD) consumption is associated with the development of metabolic diseases such as diabetes and obesity. Dietary fiber has been linked to a variety of health benefits, including obesity prevention, better glucose homeostasis, and control of blood lipid profile. Therefore, we designed this experiment to determine the efficacy of cassava fiber (CF) in preventing the development of diabetes and obesity caused by HSD. Swiss albino male mice were fed with CF in supplementation with or without HSD. In comparison to a high sugar diet group, CF supplementation steadily reduced food intake. Though it was insignificant CF supplementation attenuated the increase in body weight due to HSD consumption. From the intraperitoneal glucose tolerance test (ipGTT), it was revealed that CF supplementation improved glucose tolerance after a glucose (2mg/kg BW) challenge and also showed a significant decrease in area under the curve (AUC). Moreover, CF supplementation remarkably lowered the LDL-cholesterol level of the HSD-fed mice. Overall, our present study demonstrates that consumption of a CF-rich diet helps to maintain glucose homeostasis and prevent the development of metabolic syndromes associated with diabetes and obesity.

Key words: Cassava; dietary fiber; high sugar diet; diabetes; obesity