Glucomannan powder can be used as a food substitute for people with diabetes mellitus

Abstract

Glucomannan contained in porang tuber (Amorphophallus oncophyllus) includes polysaccharide fiber which can be used as an alternative food replacement for diet, especially in treating diabetes. It contains calcium oxalate and long-term use can cause harmful effects. Six male mice in each dose group, aged 2-2.5 months, and bodyweight 20 -40 g were used in this study. Mice were induced by alloxan monohydrate to produce diabetic mice. The test group was mice given porang powder standardized by glucomannan with a dose of 85, 165 and 250 mg/kg BW mice for 21 days and glucose measurements were taken every three days. A toxicity study with a randomized postcontrol group design used six mice in the dose group. The number of deaths was calculated with three kinds of methods (Weil method, Line method and Probit method) to produce the LD50 of porang powder. The data were then analyzed using One Way Anova with a significant value of 5%. Porang powder based on glucomannan with a dose of 250 mg/kg BW mice reduced glucose levels significantly after 13 days of administration (p<0.05). The highest dose (5000 mg/kg BW mice) of porang powder standardized by glucomannan for 48 hrs did not show death in mice and was not toxic.