DEVELOPMENT OF FOX NUT FORTIFIED BREAD TO MANAGE DIABETES TYPE 2

Abstract

Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) remains a major public health burden, and functional foods based on widely consumed staples such as bread offer a practical avenue for improving glycemic control. This study developed and evaluated a fox nut (Euryale ferox)-fortified wheat bread (150 g fox nut flour per 1 kg wheat flour; 15% fortification) for its proximate composition, sensory acceptability, and clinical efficacy in patients with T2DM. Proximate analysis (AOAC methods) showed 31.50±0.25% moisture, 12.10±0.18% protein, 3.20±0.10% fat, 2.80±0.12% fiber, 1.90±0.08% ash, 48.50±0.32% carbohydrate, and 271.2 kcal/100 g energy. Fifteen semi-trained panelists rated the bread 8.07±0.46 (“like very much”) on a 9-point hedonic scale. In a three-month randomized interventional trial, the experimental group (n=9, fortified bread) showed significantly greater reductions than the control group (n=10, standard bread) in fasting blood glucose (−32.3% vs −6.1%), postprandial blood glucose (−28.1% vs −4.8%), HbA1c (−19.2% vs −1.8%), and random blood sugar (−25.5% vs −4.9%) (p<0.05 for all between-group comparisons at Month 3), with a modest, non-significant reduction in body weight (−2.0%, p=0.096). These findings suggest that a 15% fox nut fortification level yields a nutritionally enhanced, sensorily acceptable bread capable of meaningfully improving glycemic parameters over three months, supporting its potential as an adjunctive dietary strategy for T2DM management pending confirmation in larger, multicenter trials.