Determining the glycaemic load of varieties of fufu in Ghana

Abstract

Knowledge about the glycaemic load of a food is very important in minimizing the prevalence of diabetes and other Non-Communicable Diseases. This study seeks to determine the glycaemic load of varieties of fufu that are often eaten in Ghana. The study was a crossover experimental study which used 10 healthy participants, who were given 50 g of pure glucose and subsequently served with a measured amount of test foods; cassava – plantain fufu, cassava – cocoyam fufu and cassava – yam fufu, containing 50 g of carbohydrate. Fasting blood glucose was taken and after ingestion of test foods, capillary blood was also taken within a 2-hour period and assayed for postprandial glucose concentration. The glycaemic loads were determined using the GI values taking into account the typical portion size of fufu. Sensory evaluation was carried out to identify the most preferred variety. A proximate analysis was also carried out on all three varieties to assess their nutritional components. Findings from proximate analysis indicated that, cassava – plantain combination had the least amount of carbohydrate of 34.87%, followed by the cassava – cocoyam with an amount of 36.10% and the cassava – yam with an amount of 43.00%. All three varieties had low glycaemic index, however, they had high GL. Cassava- plantain fufu had GL of 40%, cassava – yam fufu had 22% and cassava - cocoyam fufu had 29%. This was attributed to the large portion sizes of fufu eaten. Results from sensory evaluation revealed that cassava – plantain fufu variety was much preferred among the three varieties. Culture was identified as the main reason why panelists preferred a particular fufu variety to the others. Consumers must take smaller portion sizes of any of the fufu variety in order to minimize the effect on their blood sugar level.