EFFECTS OF RED PITAYA FRUIT (HYLOCEREUS POLYRHIZUS) CONSUMPTION ON BLOOD GLUCOSE LEVEL AND LIPID PROFILE IN TYPE 2 DIABETIC SUBJECTS

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¹*Norhayati Abd Hadi, ¹Marhazlina Mohamad,
¹Mohd Adzim Khalili Rohin & ²Rokiah Mohd Yusof

¹Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences,
Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin, Kampus Kota,
Jalan Sultan Mahmud, 20400 Kuala Terengganu, Terengganu, Malaysia.
²Department of Nutrition and Dietetics,
Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences,
Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 UPM Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia.

ABSTRACT. This study was conducted to determine the effects of red pitaya fruit consumption on blood glucose level, lipid profile, body weight and total body fat in type 2 diabetic subjects. A total of 28 subjects were randomly divided into four groups; Group 1 were given 400g of red pitaya per day, Group 2 were given 600 g of red pitaya per day, Group 3 negative control; were diabetic patients and given a normal diet and Group 4 positive control; were healthy subjects and given a normal diet. Subjects were assigned to a seven week study which consisted of three phases: phase 1: one week, phase 2: 4 weeks of treatment and phase 3: 2 weeks of wash-out. After four weeks of treatment, Group 1 showed a significant increase in HDL-cholesterol level and a significant decrease in blood glucose, LDL-cholesterol and triglyceride level. There was a significant increase in total cholesterol level on the seventh week of the study. Even though there was no significant difference in Group 2, there was still an increasing trend in HDL-cholesterol level and decreasing trend in blood glucose, total cholesterol, triglycerideand LDL-cholesterol levels, with a higher percent of changes than Group 1. No significant differences were seen in body weight and total body fat in any groups.


KEYWORDS. Blood glucose, red pitaya fruit, type 2 diabetes mellitus, lipid profiles.

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