Abstract:
Knowledge about the glycaemic load of a food is very important in
minimizing the prevalence of diabetes and other Non-Communicable
Diseases. This study seeks to determine the glycaemic load of varieties of fufu
that are often eaten in Ghana. The study was a crossover experimental study
which used 10 healthy participants, who were given 50 g of pure glucose and
subsequently served with a measured amount of test foods; cassava – plantain
fufu, cassava – cocoyam fufu and cassava – yam fufu, containing 50 g of
carbohydrate. Fasting blood glucose was taken and after ingestion of test
foods, capillary blood was also taken within a 2-hour period and assayed for
postprandial glucose concentration. The glycaemic loads were determined
using the GI values taking into account the typical portion size of fufu.
Sensory evaluation was carried out to identify the most preferred variety. A
proximate analysis was also carried out on all three varieties to assess their
nutritional components. Findings from proximate analysis indicated that,
cassava – plantain combination had the least amount of carbohydrate of
34.87%, followed by the cassava – cocoyam with an amount of 36.10% and
the cassava – yam with an amount of 43.00%. All three varieties had low
glycaemic index, however, they had high GL. Cassava- plantain fufu had GL
of 40%, cassava – yam fufu had 22% and cassava - cocoyam fufu had 29%.
This was attributed to the large portion sizes of fufu eaten. Results from
sensory evaluation revealed that cassava – plantain fufu variety was much
preferred among the three varieties. Culture was identified as the main reason
why panelists preferred a particular fufu variety to the others. Consumers must
take smaller portion sizes of any of the fufu variety in order to minimize the
effect on their blood sugar level.
