Evaluation of a high nutritional quality snack based on oat flakes and inulin: effects on postprandial glucose, insulin and ghrelin responses of healthy subjects

The consumption of high nutritional value snacks may favorably affect the diet quality. Biscuits manufactured with oat flakes and maltitol were assessed for glycemic, insulinemic and ghrelin responses. Enrichment with inulin, a fructooligosachararide (FOS) which acts as soluble fiber, was performed in an attempt to further increase the dietary fiber content and examine potential additional postprandial benefits. Eleven healthy subjects participated in the study and consumed either 80 g oat biscuits (OB) or 81 g oat biscuits with 4% inulin (OBIN) or a solution containing 50 g of glucose (reference food), each yielding 50 g of available carbohydrates. Venous blood samples were collected before consumption and at 15, 30, 45, 60, 90, 120 and 180 min postprandially. The developed products were also evaluated for physicochemical properties, including porosity, density, texture, color, sensory attributes and microstructure (by scanning electron microscopy). Both biscuits demonstrated a low glycemic index (GI), which was found to be 32.82 ± 8.07 for OB and 45.68 ± 9.64 for OBIN. Compared to OB, OBIN demonstrated higher insulin response at 45 and 60 min and higher ghrelin suppression at 60 and 120 min postprandially (P < 0.05). Furthermore, OBIN demonstrated increased hardness and color values, lower porosity, and higher rate of starch granule gelatinization, without significantly altering the sensory attributes. Biscuits formulated with oat flakes and maltitol with or without 4% inulin can be classified as low GI foods. Inulin addition significantly lowered the ghrelin response to OBIN, suggesting an advantage of OBIN in the modulation of satiety; however, no further benefits regarding glucose and insulin responses were observed.