Cookies elaborated with oat and common bean flours improved serum markers in diabetic rats

BACKGROUND Common beans have been associated to anti-diabetic effects, due to its high content of bioactive compounds. Nevertheless, its consumption has decreased worldwide. Therefore, there is an increasing interest in the development of novel functional foods elaborated with common beans. The aim of this study was to evaluate the anti-diabetic effect of oat-bean flour cookies, and to analyze its bioactive composition, using commercial oat-wheat cookies for comparative purposes. RESULTS Oat-bean cookies (1.2 g/kg) slightly decreased serum glucose levels (~1.1 fold) and increased insulin levels (~1.2 fold) in diabetic rats, reducing the hyperglycemic peak in healthy rats (~1.1 fold). Oat-bean cookies (0.8 and 1.2 g/kg) exerted a greater hypolipidemic effect than commercial oat-wheat cookies (1.2 g/kg), as observed in decreased serum triglycerides and LDL. Furthermore, the supplementation with 1.2 g/kg of oat-bean cookies decreased atherogenic index and serum C-reactive protein levels, suggesting their cardioprotective potential. The beneficial effect of oat-bean cookies was associated to their high content of dietary fiber and galactooligosaccharides, as well as chlorogenic acid, rutin, protocatechuic acid, β-sitosterol, and soyasaponins. CONCLUSION These results suggest that common beans can be used as functional ingredients for the elaboration of cookies with anti-diabetic effects.