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Impact of chickpea and plantain based gluten-free snacks on weight gain, serum lipid and insulin resistance of rats
L. BELLO-PEREZ (1), P. Flores-Silva (1), J. Tovar (2), R. Reynoso-Camacho (3) (1) CEPROBI-IPN, Yautepec, Mexico; (2) University of Lund, Lund, Sweden; (3) Universidad Autonoma de Queretaro, Queretaro, Mexico.

Ready to eat products, such as snacks, have become a normal part of the eating habits of the majority of the world population; however, they are considered high energy-dense products, and to promote weight gain and lead to obesity, metabolic syndrome and related diseases (cardiovascular events, hypertension, cancer). Incorporation of sources of non-digestible carbohydrates such as chickpea and unripe plantain flours may result in lower glycemic responses for the snacks and provide beneficial effects on postprandial insulin and satiety. Therefore, two gluten-free snacks containing chickpea, plantain and maize flours at different concentrations were prepared to evaluate the impact of chickpea or plantain flour level on weight gain, insulin resistance and serum lipid profile of rats fed with a high fructose diet. A dose of 0.93 g/kg was used in the experiments to simulate the snack consumption level by humans. Compared to high-fructose reference diet, consumption of both snacks decreased weight gain, fasting serum glucose and triglycerides. The effect was more pronounced for snack B, with higher chickpea content. Consumption of these snacks may have beneficial effects against obesity and cardiometabolic complications. Chickpea and plantain flours are promising functional ingredients for the development of anti-obesity foods.