Abstract
Chickpea seeds were reported to have been employed for treating hypertension and diabetes mellitus for over the past 2500 years. The present study aimed to compare the effect of balady and imported chickpea available in Egyptian markets on blood glucose and lipid profile of diabetic rats.Thirty six mature male albino rats were divided into six groups and 30 of them were induced to diabetes and feed with basal diet supported with 10 and 20% of balady and imported chickpea.The results indicated that, balady chickpea had higher protein, fiber and fat content compared to imported counterpart. Phenolic components were much higher in balady samples than imported counterpart before and after cooking.The feed intake of control group fed on basal diet (control negative) tended to have the highest percentage, followed by diabetic group (control positive) and diabetic group feed on 10% of balady chickpea. Groups fed on balady chickpea tended to have blood glucose lower than its imported chickpea counterparts. Significant differences were observed between them. The TG, cholesterol, LDL, VLDL levels were significantly (P < 0.05) lower in groups fed on balady chickpea groups compared to diabetic rats fed on imported chickpea groups. It could be concluded that chickpea seeds are a relatively cheap source of dietary fiber and bioactive compounds, which may be useful for lowering the risk of diabetic rats
Key words: Chickpea seeds, blood glucose, lipid profile, nutritional diabetes rats