[Dietary fiber in industrial tomato residue and its effects on glycaemic response and seric cholesterol in rats]. / Fibra dietética en el residuo industrial del tomate y su efecto sobre la respuesta glicémica y el colesterol sérico en ratas.

The left over after ketchup sauce is obtained is a tomato residue (RIT) that contains skin and seeds. Proximal analysis of the flour of this industrial product reveals that it has 50% dietary fiber, 18% protein and 10% fat. Due to the high dietary fiber content the effect on glucose absorption and seric cholesterol was studied. Sprague-Dawley rats were given an intragastric meal after a 12 hours fast containing 263 g tomato residue flour (RIT)/diet or a control meal (0% RIT) and glucose plasma levels were determined. Results show that the presence of RIT in the test meal flattened glucose response curves. Ad lib administration of four diets differing in RIT content to four groups of rats for 18 days showed that although animals on a high RIT diet ate increased amounts of cholesterol the plasma lipid levels remained constant which suggest that the presence of RIT fibre on the diet is responsible for this effect. The results reported in this paper suggest that the dietary fiber of RIT diminishes glucose absorption and reduces seric cholesterol levels, which in turn could be useful in the treatment of NIDD and hypercholesterolaemic patients.

Effect of cassava bread supplementation on energy intake of rats.

The effect of supplementing semi-purified diet of rats with milled cassava bread was investigated. Total food intake and weight gain were measured in ad libitum and pair fed animals. Plasma triglyceride levels were determined at the beginning and end of the experimental period. Cassava bread supplementation did not increase total food intake of the animals therefore resulted in a lower food efficiency ratio (FER) of the diet when animals were fed ad libitum. When the animals were pair fed, FER was similar for both diets suggesting that cassava supplementation does not increase significantly the energy content of the diet. Addition of milled cassava bread to the diet did not modify plasma lipid levels. This results support that cassava starch is partially available to the rats. Clinical use of cassava bread is suggested for diabetic and obese patients.