The Glucose-Lowering Effect of Foxtail Millet in Subjects with Impaired Glucose Tolerance: A Self-Controlled Clinical Trial

Abstract

Foxtail millet has relatively low starch digestibility and moderate glycemic index compared to other grains. Since there are still no clinical researches regarding its long-term effect on blood glucose, this self-controlled study was conducted to investigate the glucose-lowering effect of foxtail millet in free-living subjects with impaired glucose tolerance (IGT). Fifty g/day of foxtail millet was provided to enrolled subjects throughout 12 weeks and the related clinical parameters were investigated at week 0, 6 and 12, respectively. After 12 weeks of foxtail millet intervention, the mean fasting blood glucose of the subjects decreased from 5.7 ± 0.9 mmol/L to 5.3 ± 0.7 mmol/L (p < 0.001) and the mean 2 h-glucose decreased from 10.2 ± 2.6 mmol/L to 9.4 ± 2.3 mmol/L (p = 0.003). The intake of foxtail millet caused a significant increase of serum leptin (p = 0.012), decrease of insulin resistance (p = 0.007), and marginal reduction of inflammation. Furthermore, a sex-dependent difference in glucose-lowering effect of foxtail millet was observed in this study. Foxtail millet could improve the glycemic control in free-living subjects with IGT, suggesting that increasing the consumption of foxtail millet might be beneficial to individuals suffering from type 2 diabetes mellitus.

Millet-based supplement restored microbiota diversity of acute undernourished pigs

“…It has attracted specific attention on account of the excellent nutritional value and potential health benefits such as anti-oxidant and anti-arteriosclerotic possibility [13,14]. Several studies have shown that millet, as a kind of functional food, is playing an unignoring role in maintaining homeostasis of blood glucose [15,16], delaying gastric emptying [17,18], and enhancing immune competence. Clinical studies by Dewey and Ganmaa et al have shown that dietary intervention can promote good absorption of nutrients and prevent or improve malnutrition [19,20,21].…”

Millets in Metabolic Syndrome- Time to Tap the Potential

“…Several other studies have described a reduction in BMI with millets while failing to show a beneficial effect of millets on waist to hip ratio of patients. 4,5 The reduction in weight and BMI are probably due to appetite suppression as a result of elevated leptin levels in the blood. 5 It was also noticed that members of the millet-based diet group had lower values of systolic BP.…”

“…4,5 The reduction in weight and BMI are probably due to appetite suppression as a result of elevated leptin levels in the blood. 5 It was also noticed that members of the millet-based diet group had lower values of systolic BP. The diastolic BP was also lower in the former group, but this difference fell just short of statistical significance.…”

“…There have been studies that have found a reduction in systolic and diastolic BP values with millet intake. 4,5 This has been suggested to be due to the combined contributions of high dietary fiber, protein, calcium and potassium content, as well as polyphenols in unprocessed millets in addition to the effect of weight loss. All these components have been shown in several studies to lower BP.…”

“…[6][7][8][9][10] The fasting and post prandial blood glucose levels were also significantly lower in the millet-based diet group. Previous studies have described the effect of millets in helping to lower not only the post prandial, 4,5,11 but also the fasting blood glucose 5,12 levels. Millets like finger millets have been proposed to lower glycaemic effect due to the presence of 'anti-nutrients' which reduce starch digestibility and absorption.…”