PLASMA-GLUCOSE AND INSULIN RESPONSES TO BANANAS OF VARYING RIPENESS IN PERSONS WITH NONINSULIN-DEPENDENT DIABETES-MELLITUS

With progressive ripeness there is a decrease in starch and an increas e in free sugar content of bananas. The starch also is considered to b e poorly digestible. Therefore, we decided to study plasma glucose, se rum insulin, C-peptide, and plasma glucagon responses to bananas with increasing degrees of fineness. Seven male subjects with untreated non insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus ingested 50 g carbohydrate as bana nas of stage 4 (more yellow than green), 5 (yellow with green tip), 6 (all yellow), and 7 (yellow flecked with brown) fineness. They also re ceived 50 g glucose on two occasions for comparative purposes. On a se parate occasion water only was given as a control. The area responses were quantified by determining incremental areas using the water contr ol as baseline. The mean glucose area following the 50 g glucose meals was 15.1 +/- 1.9 mM.h. After the ingestion of bananas of 4, 5, 6 and 7 ripeness the glucose area response was 42, 41, 51 and 48% of that af ter glucose ingestion, respectively. The insulin area response followi ng glucose meals was 888 pM.h. Responses to 4, 5, 6 and 7 bananas were 85, 70, 61, 85%, respectively, of that following glucose ingestion. C -peptide data were similar to the insulin data. The glucagon area resp onse was negative after glucose ingestion but was positive following b anana ingestion. In summary. the glucose, insulin, C-peptide, and gluc agon area responses varied little with ripeness of the bananas.