Is Jerusalem artichoke good for diabetes?

what is jerusalem artichoke

Jerusalem artichoke (Helianthus tuberosus L.) is a perennial tuber plant. Its tubers are made largely of carbohydrates, mainly in the form of inulin. Inulin is soluble fibre and contains a short chain of fructose molecules as β-2,1 fructan. Streptozotocin (STZ) is a toxic nitrosourea analogue, and it can selectively destroy specific pancreatic β cells via GLUT2 in mice and rats. STZ can inhibit the function of pancreatic β cells and reduce the secretion of insulin. Hence, it is often used to establish the animal model of diabetes. Low-dose STZ can slightly damage the function of pancreatic β cells and can moderately reduce insulin secretion, creating symptoms similar to those in patients with type 2 diabetes insulin hyposecretion

Jerusalem artichoke has beneficial outcomes on digestion. it is a superb supply of dietary fiber, for instance, which allows for bulk food and decreases constipation. however, there can be digestive downsides too.

benefits of Jerusalem artichoke 

human digestive enzymes no longer goal inulin. round 89% (and as much as ninety-seven%) of the inulin and fructooligosaccharides that we consume, on average, stay intact within the small gut (Andersson et al., 1999; molis et al., 1996). because it isn't always digested, there tends to be much inulin in the big intestine or colon after consuming a meal rich in inulin. however, none reaches the stools, and only a small fraction takes place in the urine (molis et al., 1996). this is due to the fact inulin is completely fermented by employing the general microbial fauna in the huge gut, especially through bifidobacteria and lactobacilli (Nilsson and bjorck, 1988; Nilsson et al., 1988). the digestion of inulin and fructooligosaccharide is observed by way of the production of hydrogen, carbon dioxide, and different gaseous merchandise (stone-dorshow and Levitt, 1987). this results in an undesirable aspect impact of ingesting Jerusalem artichoke and different inulin-rich foods: flatulence.

the wind-inducing results of Jerusalem artichoke had been acknowledged for decades. although the tuber unfolds hastily at some stage in France in the 10 years after its advent in 1607, it became no longer universally popular because of overindulgence in the unfamiliar vegetable revealing its digestive downsides. Jean-Luc Hennig writes of the style of nicknames the road sellers and those gave the tubers after their creation, earlier than they go to of the topi-nambous Indians from brazil in 1613 cautioned an individual moniker that stuck. the names, often derived from the coarse vocabulary of the countryfolk, referred to a perceived indigestibility and invoked lice, swine, and rotten ft. Philibert Guibert, in le médecin charitable (1629), defined the topinambour as giving wind, giddiness, and complications. meanwhile, in England, Tobias Venner, a doctor in a tub, warned in 1622 that the vegetable turned into "extremely nauseous or fulsome to the stomach, and therefore very hurtful to the melancholic, and they that have susceptible stomachs." in johnson's 1633 revision of Gerard's herbal, john Goodyear's entry for Jerusalem artichoke concluded: "in my judgment, which way soever they are dressed and eaten, they fire up and cause a filthy loathsome stinking wind inside the body, thereby inflicting the belly to be a great deal pained and tormented, and are a meat more in shape for swine than a guy; but some say they've typically eaten them, and feature located no such windy pleasant in them.

further to flatulence, excessive inulin intake can cause several abdominal symptoms, inclusive of osmotic diarrhea, pain, and bloating

there are diagnosed upper limits to the quantity of inulin that it is wise to devour in a day. this takes into account figures for human tolerance to inulin, that is depending on the fructan chain period or diploma of polymerization, and the amount eaten up (Rasmussen and gudmand-h0yer, 1998). human tolerance to fructans with a degree of polymerization over 5 is greater than for quick-chain fructooligosaccharides with a diploma of polymerization much less than 5. the literature indicates that as much as 70 g of inulin in step with the day may be consumed in various foods without causing unwanted facet consequences

. studies have proven that each day inulin doses of five to 20 g produce useful results, and those fairly small quantities are normally properly tolerated via the human digestive system.

the amount of inulin that may be eaten without digestive problems can depend upon a person's physiology, with a few humans exceptionally tolerant to the side results and others a good deal extra susceptible to digestive disturbance. to a positive quantity, it additionally depends on how tons of inulin have been eaten inside the beyond. even though there may be no evidence of physiological edition to inulin over the short term, the microflora populace within the colon may also evolve enzymes that concentrate on inulins over a long time. consequently, the greater Jerusalem artichoke is eaten over an extended period, the much more likely it's far that the digestive gadget can adapt to it. wherein Jerusalem artichoke is utilized as a sustenance crop, for instance, people appear to be capable of eating extensively extra of it without experiencing issues of flatulence or digestive disturbance. this accounts for a bent to exaggerate the issues of flatulence springing up from Jerusalem artichoke consumption, as it is especially inexperienced consumers who complain about their "loathsome stinking wind." although, Jerusalem artichoke will in no way become a widely frequent staple like potato, due to the fact its reputation will constantly be tempered by its digestive downsides. it is nice to feed on for its blessings a touch at a time.

Harold McGee (1992) has mentioned culinary processes to tone down the undesirable facet results of Jerusalem artichoke. those techniques either eliminate some of the inulin from the tubers before consumption or alter its composition. raw or quickly cooked tubers have a high inulin content material and need to most effectively be used as a minor thing in a meal. boiling the tubers in copious amounts of water, that's then discarded, reduces inulin and fructooligosaccharide content material — the fructans stay inside the pan as a first-rate white precipitate. the effectiveness of boiling is increased if the tubers are sliced to increase the surface region uncovered in the water. fifteen minutes of boiling draws out around forty to 50% of the indigestible carbohydrate from sliced tubers. precooking the tubers (e.g., in water or water and milk) has been a culinary practice for decades and is referred to, for instance, in the 1633 edition of Gerard's herbal and in the 1738 version of la Varenne's s (McGee, 1992; Schneider, 1986). the maximum dramatic discounts in inulin content, however, are received with the aid of gradual cooking. every other inulin-rich plant, the camas lily (camassia spp.), become historically pit cooked by using local Americans. this worried burying the camas lily bulbs in a pot and covering them with dry wood and stones and, once the fire had hooked up, earth and grass. the food changed to cooked for between 12 and 36 h. this method was also probably used for Jerusalem artichoke tubers. McGee followed a sluggish-cooking approach in a kitchen for Jerusalem artichoke tubers, over a 12-h period. cooking through this approach, in the end, turns all the inulin to fructose, leaving completely candy and soft-textured meals (McGee, 1992). the inulin and fructooligosaccharide content is likewise reduced in chilled and stored tubers, because of chemical breakdown (Edelman and Jefford, 1968; rutherford and flood, 1971). cooked tubers that have been stored below cold situations for a month or

will therefore have much less inulin than fresh tubers, even though the effect is small in comparison to variations obtained thru one kind of cooking approach (McGee, 1992).

apart from flatulence and minor digestive disturbances, inulin has few detrimental effects on the human frame. however, there has been one report of an excessive allergic reaction (four episodes of anaphylaxis) attributed to an accumulated dosage of inulin from more than one asset, such as veggies and processed food (homosexual-crosier et al., 2000). inulin and fructooligosaccharides are being added to an ever-increasing range of processed ingredients, wherein they may be labeled as food elements rather than additives, and are considered safe to consume. there may be consequently a completely small chance that their multiplied use in processed foods might make allergic reactions to them more common than is presently diagnosed.

the aboveground elements of Jerusalem artichoke aren't eaten up as human food, however, each of the tops and tubers may be applied as animal feed, either fresh or in silage and feed formulations. Jerusalem artichoke usually yields around 500 to 700 to-1 of green fabric. as a forage crop, it could be grown as a permanent planting for the reason that tops are regenerated each yr from tubers left within the floor (Gunnarson et al., 1985). all the aerial elements are covered in fodder, even though the leaves and stems differ in their nutrient and mineral content material (desk 6.2). the leaves contain more protein than the stems, at the same time as the stems contain greater carbohydrates than the leaves (e.g., hay and provide, 1992; luske, 1934). the leaves are therefore generally considered better in terms of fodder than the stems.

the leaves are a good supply of protein for animal forage, being particularly wealthy in the amino acids lysine and methionine compared to different forage (Stauffer et al., 1981). the protein dry count number content material of the leaves can be as high as 20% of the full aerial elements, of which 5 to 6% is the critical amino acid lysine (rawate and hill, 1985). crude protein content material of among 9. five and 17.three% was recorded for 8 Canadian accessions (Stauffer et al., 1981). the amino acids (percent dry weight basis) for herbage protein were given as: lysine (five.4%), histidine (1.8%), arginine (five.2%), aspartic acid (nine.1%), threonine (4.four%), serine (four.zero%), glutamic acid (10.five%), proline (four.1%), glycine (5.1%), alanine (6.three%), methionine (1.four%), isoleucine (4.6%), leucine (8.3%), tyrosine