Extracts from Jamaica flowers (Hibiscus sabdariffa) from Morelia (Mexico) were evaluated as antidiabetic ingredients in a diabetic rat lab model for 80 days at doses of 200, 400, and 600 mg extract/kg rat weight. The hydroalcoholic extract (water:ethanol 80:20 (v/v) at 50 °C) showed a TPC value of 403.28 ± 7.71 mg GAE/g extract, and an antioxidant activity of 0.219 ± 0.00003 mmol Trolox/g (ABTS) and 0.134 ± 0.00001 mmol Trolox/g (DPPH). The extract allowed reducing the diabetic glucose plasma levels under fasting conditions in a dose-dependent manner by 35.2%, 41.63%, and 50.1%. Additionally, the highest dose of the extract (600 mg/kg) slightly reduced the short-term postprandial glucose response while improving the long-term response, reducing hyperglycemia by 45.1%. The same dose also improved lipid metabolism by reducing total cholesterol, triglycerides, VLDL, and LDL, while the HDL level increased. The improvement in glucose and lipid management in the treated groups also led to reduced levels of glycosylated hemoglobin, as well as lower insulin resistance (TyG index), compared to the diabetic control group. The results of this study suggest that extracts from Hibiscus sabdariffa (Morelia) can be used as potential functional ingredients or nutraceuticals for managing the diabetic condition.

Hoy en día, la microbiota gastrointestinal se ha transformado en un tema de investigación dinámica para dilucidar su relación con la dieta y la salud metabólica del huésped. En los últimos años se ha reconocido que la microbiota intestinal presenta una interacción estrecha en la regulación de la homeostasis inmune humana y el metabolismo, esto con lleva a nuevas oportunidades para la prevención de la obesidad y las enfermedades metabólicas asociadas como la diabetes tipo 2, para generar estrategias en el tratamiento de enfermedades metabólicos y sobre todo en esclarecer la prevalencia de la obesidad. En recientes investigaciones se ha establecido elementos que permiten establecer a la microbiota intestinal como un mediador sobre el impacto de la dieta, el estado metabólico y el peso corporal del huésped. Los mecanismos que permite una relación de la microbiota del intestino con la obesidad son generados mediante la combinación de modelos con animales de experimentación y ensayos clínicos. El reto fundamental del tema es la capacidad en establecer la causalidad de la relación entre la nutrición, la microbiota y la salud del huésped, así como los factores que inciden sobre los cambios en el peso corporal del individuo. Palabras clave: microbiota, tratamiento dietético, obesidad. ABSTRACTToday, the gastrointestinal microbiota has been transformed into a dynamic research topic to elucidate its relationship with diet and metabolic health of the host. In recent years it has been recognized that the intestinal microbiota presents a close interaction in the regulation of human immune homeostasis and metabolism, leading to new opportunities for the prevention of obesity and associated metabolic diseases such as type 2 diabetes, to generate strategies in the treatment of metabolic diseases and especially in clarifying the prevalence of obesity. Recent research has established elements that allow establishing the intestinal microbiota as a mediator on the impact of diet, metabolic status and body weight of the host. The mechanisms allowing a relationship of the intestinal microbiota with obesity are generated by combining models with experimental animals and clinical trials. The fundamental challenge of the subject is the ability to establish the causality of the relationship between nutrition, microbiota and the health of the host, as well as the factors that influence the changes in the individual's body weight. Keywords: microbiota, dietary treatment, obesity.

Los aditivos son aquellas sustancias o compuestos no nutritivos que se adicionan directamente a todo producto alimenticio industrializado durante su elaboración, con el propósito de proporcionar estabilidad fisicoquímica al alimento, mejorar las características sensoriales y en muchos casos alargar la vida de anaquel del alimento. El uso generalizado que la industria alimentaria hace de los aditivos, la obliga a establecer mecanismos de control que regulen su correcta utilización y que verifiquen sus resultados en términos de otorgar un valor agregado al consumidor. Para que una sustancia sea admitida como aditivo debe estar bien caracterizada químicamente y debe superar los controles toxicológicos establecidos por parte de los correspondientes organismos nacionales e internacionales para comprobar su inocuidad en términos de la frecuencia de consumo y del nivel dietético máximo permitido evitando la generación de algún efecto adverso a la salud. Así mismo, el uso de los aditivos en los alimentos está justificado cuando cumplen con alguna de las siguientes funciones: a) Mantenimiento de las cualidades nutritivas o atributos benéficos a la salud; b) Mejorar las cualidades de conservación o de estabilidad fisicoquímica del alimento; c) Aumentar o mejorar las características sensoriales (atractivo al consumidor) de manera que no lleve al engaño; d) Aporte de coadyuvantes esenciales para el procesamiento. En este sentido, los aditivos hoy en día deben de ser sustancias que contribuyan a la estabilidad fisicoquímica del alimento para alargar la vida de anaquel y hacerlo más apetecible al consumidor y no para ocultar defectos de fabricación y en casos extremos las condiciones insalubres de elaboración.

Background: Resistant starch, and specially retrograded starches (RS), have been suggested as useful biological molecules to improve the glucose management in diabetic conditions. However, the influence of the botanical origin in the RS biological capacities make necessary its evaluation, where RS from legumes have been paid less attention compared to other sources as cereals. Objectives: A RS product obtained from creole Faba beans (Vicia faba L. creole), was evaluated for the first time as a material capable of improving glucose homeostasis in diabetic conditions. Methods: The RS ingredient investigated (with a reduced digestibility of 50%) was tested in a Wistar rat model with induced diabetes, fed with a 15 or 30% replacement of RS ingredient in the diet. Diverse nutritional and biomarkers were analysed. Results: As a result of the reduced digestibility of the RS ingredient, diabetic animals fed with RS replacement (15% or 30%) showed attenuated postprandial hyperglycemia responses, reducing the hyperglycemic condition close to 29% compared to non-treated diabetic animals (24.56 ± 7.50 and 25.02 ± 3.54 vs. 34.65 ± 1.89 mmol/L, respectively). In addition, fasting serum glucose levels were significantly reduced (22%). Other biochemical parameters associated with glucose metabolism, such as glycosylated hemoglobin and AGEs levels, also improved. Furthermore, significant improvements in nutritional parameters (such as weight gain) and a lower insulin resistance index were determined. In contrast, no clear effects were observed in lipid metabolism and oxidative stress biomarkers in the treated group. Conclusions: The results of this research suggest that the retrograded starch from creole beans evaluated could be a potential functional food ingredient capable of enhancing glucose homeostasis in diabetic conditions.