Formulation if functional cake with quinoa and okra flour and investigated the effect on blood sugar in diabetic patients

Diabetes mellitus is one of the most common metabolic disorders that affect the metabolism of carbohydrates, proteins, and fats; and is caused due to a lack of insulin secretion or reduced tissue sensitivity to insulin generating high blood sugar. Due to the side effects of using chemical drugs to treat diabetes, different plants have been used to lower blood sugar and to cure the effects of diabetes. Cake is one of the cereal products with high-consumption snack for all age groups. In this study, the possibility of producing cakes was investigated. This investigation was done by replacing some parts of wheat flour with quinoa flour and okra flour in order to use the benefits of these flours in reducing the glycaemic index in diabetics.To compensate for the negative effects of gluten reduction caused by replacing wheat flour with other flours, basil gum was used as a natural additive in cake formulations.

For this study, the nutritional properties of wheat flour, quinoa and okra flour, and cake samples were measured according to the standards. Then four cake samples (a control cake, a cake with 30% quinoa flour, a cake containing 16% okra flour, and a formulated cake consisted of 30% quinoa flour and 16% okra flour) were produced. The sample with higher nutritional value was chosen to evaluate changes in blood sugar in 10 patients with type II diabetes using the method of measuring blood sugar by a glucometer.

The result showed that the amount of protein and fiber in quinoa flour and okra flour was higher than wheat flour. The fat value in quinoa flour was more than wheat flour and okra flour. The comparison between the cake prepared from quinoa flour and okra flour with the control cake showed that the amount of fiber, ash and protein in the cake prepared with quinoa flour and okra flour was much higher than the ones in the control sample. The cake containing a combination of quinoa flour and okra flour had higher texture and sensory properties than the other samples. The result of the patients' blood glucose test during the study showed that when the cake was formulated, the patients' blood sugar response rate was much lower than when they used white bread (control).

The results of this study showed that the formulated cake with okra flour and quinoa flour can be used as a main snack for diabetics.