**13. Conclusions and recommendations**

**Name of local diet as consumed/ snacks/drinks**

82 Antioxidant-Antidiabetic Agents and Human Health

Boiled yam with fish stew

Cassava flour with vegetable soup

Yam flour with vegetables stew

Boiled beans and boiled plantain with beef/fish stew

Fermented cassava/*C. gigantea* blend

> Fermented maize/ *C. gigantea*

*Fermented sorghum/C. gigantea*

**Description of diet**

Boiled yam (*D. rotundata*) consumed with stew prepared fish, vegetable oil, fresh tomatoes, red pepper and vegetables

Cooked, thick paste made from *Manihot esculenta* root flourconsumed with traditional soup prepared with 'soup thickener' fresh vegetables, beef/fish, vegetable oil, fresh tomatoes and red pepper

Cooked, thick paste made from *D. rotundata tuber* flour consumed with traditional soup prepared with 'soup thickener' fresh vegetables, beef/fish, vegetable oil, fresh tomatoes and red pepper

Boiled cowpea (*V. unguiculata*) and boiled *Musa parasidiaca* consumed with traditional soup prepared with 'soup thickener' fresh vegetables, beef/fish, vegetable oil, fresh tomatoes and red pepper

*Candida tropicalis* fermented *Manihot esculenta* root flour blended with *Cola gigantea* seed flour and other basic ingredients for rat study to provide 10% protein and 20g total dietary fibre/ 1000kcal

*Candida tropicalis* fermented *Zea mays* seed flour blended with *Cola gigantea* seed flour and other basic ingredients for rat study to provide 10% protein and 20g total dietary fibre/1000kcal

*Candida tropicalis* fermented *Sorghum bicolor* seed flour blended with *Cola gigantea* seed flour and other basic ingredients for rat study to provide 10%

**Type of assay AM= animal model**

*In vivo*

*In vivo*

*In vivo*

*In vivo*

*In vivo* (AM) Dietary fibre,

*In vivo* (AM) Dietary fibre,

*In vivo* (AM) Dietary fibre,

**Potential active ingredients**

(human) Dietary fibre Anti-hyperglycaemic;

(human) Dietary fibre Anti-hyperglycaemic;

(human) Dietary fibre Anti-hyperglycaemic;

(human) Dietary fibre Anti-hyperglycaemic;

**Anti-diabetic property**

anti-hyperlipidaemic [129]

anti-hyperlipidaemic [129]

anti-hyperlipidaemic [129]

anti-hyperlipidaemic [129]

protein Anti-hyperglycaemia [130]

protein Anti-hyperglycaemia [130]

protein Anti-hyperglycaemia [130]

**Ref.**

Diet therapy, undisputedly, has long been recognized as key tool in the clinical management of diabetes. The challenge centres on how to translate the existing scientific evidence into practical terms for individual and household application in the management of diabetes mellitus. Relatively, a few clinical studies were published in Nigeria. Widely used parameters for diabetes-related clinical studies in Nigeria are post-prandial blood glucose response, antioxidant activity, lipid profiles and GI of diets. Most of the studies conducted on single foods were on dietary fibre. Much more indepth research is needed on phytochemical constituents of the rich national flora as regards phytochemical index and diabetes control. This is because health benefits of these indigenous plants are of public health importance. Based on recent documentation, Nigeria is rich in varieties of plant foods. Only a few varieties or cultivars were captured relative to diverse nature of Nigeria. It has generated a database for future investi‐ gations. Relevant research outputs on the plant foods would encourage diversification and increase consumption to maintain dietary adequacy and optimize their health benefits/ therapeutic potentials.

Much of the *in vivo* studies on antidiabetic effects of indigenous diets were conducted on human subjects. Levels of incorporation of fruits and vegetables into the traditional recipes are inadequate. The recipes used for traditional diets vary from one region/ethnic group to another in Nigeria. The variations in recipes for these diets might influence their nutrient concentrations and effects on blood glucose level. It is imperative to fill this gap using FBDG. This guideline proposed by FAO/WHO/UNU [76] has not been embraced and applied widely to enhance their health benefits in communities despite its advantages over the traditional and orthodox medicine. Rat study model to simulate this approach using high dietary fibre plantbased diet showed that traditional mixed diet as consumed can attenuate post-prandial blood glucose concentration in diabetic adult rats. There is research need to focus on wider varieties of traditional diets as consumed in Nigeria.

The goal for optimizing the use of indigenous plants with anti-diabetic potentials to control and prevention type 2-diabetes rests on conducting controlled clinical trials using food-based approach as the last step to establish their efficacy in humans. Evidently, these diets adequate in macronutrients, micronutrients and phytochemicals can retard and prevent diabetic complications. Optimum utilization of these indigenous anti-diabetic plant foods in Nigeria and their diversification would enhance management of diabetes and improve health of people in the communities.

INRA Programme on Natural Resources Survey, Nairobi Kenya Series No. B5 (c);

Anti-Diabetic Effects of Nigerian Indigenous Plant Foods/Diets

http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/57240

85

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