Anti-hyperglycemic effect of the immature endosperm of sugar palm (Borassus flabellifer) fruit on type 2 diabetes mellitus patients-a case study

Aim: This study aimed to investigate the nutrient contents and the anti-hyperglycemic effect of the immature endosperm of sugar palm (IESP) (Borassus flabellifer L.) fruit on type-2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) patients.

Methods: This is a short type case study where patients (n = 30) with T2DM were randomly selected and fed IESP (100 mL) twice a day after a regular meal and continued this experiment up to 4th weeks.

Result: The mean fasting blood glucose (FBG) level was markedly reduced from 1st week (15.74 mmol/L) to 4th week (10.53 mmol/L) among the patients who had normal body mass index (18.5-24.9). Only 16.67% diabetic patients had irregular FBG levels where 10% were in the previous stages after finishing the experimental period, and exceptionally in the case of 6.67% diabetic patients, this therapeutic juice was unsuccessful because of their irregular intake of insulin. The IESP was more effective on female (p ≤ 0.001) patients than males (p ≤ 0.05).

Conclusion: The IESP could be considered as anti-hyperglycemic fruit, and this might be due to its nutrient contents, especially phytochemicals, fiber, sodium, potassium, copper, and zinc.

Keywords: Antidiabetic; Immature endosperm; Sugar palm; Type 2 diabetes mellitus.