Suppression of blood glucose level elevation and promotion of GLP-1 secretion by ingestion of Undaria pinnatifida sporophylls (Mekabu): Open-label crossover design | Functional Foods in Health and Disease - Online ISSN: 2160-3855; Print ISSN: 2378-7007 Skip to main content Skip to main navigation menu Skip to site footer Open Menu Functional Foods in Health and Disease - Online ISSN: 2160-3855; Print ISSN: 2378-7007 Home Food Science Publisher Functional Food Center Current Archives About About the Journal Aims and Scope Contact Editing Services Editorial Team Express Peer Review Graphical Abstract Journal Insights Privacy Statement Submissions Announcements Search Search Register Login Home / Archives / Vol. 12 No. 2 (2022): February 2022 / Research Articles Suppression of blood glucose level elevation and promotion of GLP-1 secretion by ingestion of Undaria pinnatifida sporophylls (Mekabu): Open-label crossover design Authors Shiori Takano Faculty of Human Ecology, Wayo Women’s University Kazuma Yoshizumi Kaneryo Sea Vegetable Corporation Hitomi Kobayashi Faculty of Human Nutrition, Seitoku University Naoki Iwamoto Faculty of Contemporary Human Life Science, Tokyo Kasei Gakuin University Masaki Taga Faculty of Human Ecology, Wayo Women’s University DOI: https://doi.org/10.31989/ffhd.v12i2.891 Abstract Background: It has been confirmed that the daily consumption of seaweed such as Wakame (Undaria pinnatifida) and Kombu (Saccharina japonica) has an inhibitory effect on the rise in postprandial blood glucose levels. Similar effects can also be expected for Mekabu, which is Wakame sporophylls and contains large quantities of water-soluble dietary fiber. In this study, we examined the effects of preprandial intake of Mekabu on postprandial blood glucose levels and blood glucose regulation-related hormones in healthy young women. Methods: The subjects were ten healthy young adult women. Mekabu was eaten, followed by rice only. Blood was sampled five times: while fasting (0 min), and 15, 30, 90, and 120 minutes after eating. Measurements were taken of blood glucose level and blood glucose regulation-related hormones. Result: Eating Mekabu before rice resulted in a significant reduction of Δglucose and Δinsulin at 30 minutes after ingestion (p = 0.034, p = 0.049, respectively). The concentration of glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) in plasma was higher 30 minutes after eating (p = 0.044), 60 minutes (p = 0.0.31), and 120 minutes (p = 0.019) when Mekabu was eaten preprandially. Conclusions: In the present study, GLP-1 secretion was sustained by eating Mekabu, which is Wakame sporophylls, before rice. Our results suggest that ingesting Mekabu, which contains large amounts of viscous alginic acid, prior to a meal not only suppresses postprandial blood glucose level, but supports the extended secretion of GLP-1, providing a sustainable incretin effect. Keywords: mekabu (Undaria pinnatifida sporophylls), blood glucose, glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1), insulin, incretin, water-soluble dietary fiber Downloads [Abstract] [Full Article] Published 2022-02-16 Issue Vol. 12 No. 2 (2022): February 2022 Section Research Articles License Authors retain the copyright of their articles and grant the Functional Food Center (FFC) and its journals the right of first publication under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. This license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, including commercial use, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. Authors may post and share their published work freely, provided that the original publication in this journal is acknowledged. By submitting to this journal, authors confirm that their manuscripts are original, not under consideration elsewhere, and that they hold the necessary rights to grant this license. The Functional Food Center encourages open scientific exchange and allows derivative and extended works, provided attribution to the original publication is maintained. About the Journal      Editing Services      Graphical Abstract      Journal Insights        Submissions        Editorial Team       Privacy Statement        Contact        Current        Archives   Open Journal Systems Hosting and Support by: OpenJournalSystems.com