Effect of supplementation of bael (Aegle marmelos L.) and nutrition counseling on blood glucose, lipid profile and blood pressure of non-insulin dependent diabetics

ABSTRACT One hundred twenty non-insulin dependent diabetic subjects were selected from Punjab Agricultural University and Civil Hospital of Ludhiana. The selected subjects were divided into four groups viz. group I, II, III and IV having thirty subjects each. The subjects of group I was not given any treatment. The subjects of group II, III and IV were supplemented with 2 gm of bael (Aegle marmelos L.) leaf, pulp and seed powder respectively for a period of three month and supplementation was continued along with nutrition counseling for the next three months. The nutrition education was given for three months after fifteen days interval to the subjects of group II, III and IV through individual and group contact and gain in nutrition knowledge was assessed after the study. General information, diabetic information and dietary pattern of the subjects were recorded. The blood glucose and lipid profile were analyzed. It was found that there was significant reduction (P≤0.01) in fasting blood glucose level by 16.1, 10.8 and 11.4% and post prandial blood glucose level 11.5, 27.3 and 13.0% in the subjects of group II, III and IV respectively after the study and a non-significant reduction (P≤0.01) was seen in the subjects of group I. It was observed that significant reduction (P≤0.01) in total cholesterol 7.8, 9.3 and 5.0%, triglycerides 10.9, 8.5 and 6.6%, LDL-C 14.4, 17.0 and 8.0%, VLDL-C 11.0, 8.6 and 6.7% and an increase in HDL-C 17.0, 19.4 and 4.8% in the subjects of group II, III and IV respectively. The ratio of total cholesterol to HDL-C reduced from 5.3 to 4.2, 5.8 to 4.4 and 5.5 to 4.9 mg/dl and LDL-C to HDL-C were reduced from 3.6 to 2.7, 3.8 to 2.9 and 3.6 to 3.1 mg/dl in the subjects of group II, III and IV respectively after the study. There were also a significant decrease (P≤0.01) in the blood pressure of the subjects in group II, III and IV and a non-significant decrease (P≤0.01) were seen in the subjects of group I. Keywords: Bael (Aegle marmelos L.) leaf, pulp and seed powder, blood glucose, lipid profile, anthropometric measurements, nutrition counseling