Comparative study of the metabolic effect of arepas enriched with pectin extracted from guava (Psidium guajava']java L.) or commercial citrus pectin

Guava (Psidium guajava L.), contains up to 8.5% total dietary fiber, of which 1.9% is soluble fiber, which makes this tropical fruit a good source of pectin, consider as a soluble fiber whose consumption decreases intestinal absorption of lipids and protects against cardiovascular disease. In this work the metabolic effect of consumption of corn arepas enriched with 10% pectin for 20 days, in a group of 75 university students was evaluated. Two sources of pectin were tested, one extracted from guava (Psidium guajava L.) and a commercial citrus pectin. At day 0 and at the end of the 20 day trial the lipid profile and blood glucose were evaluated. The comparison of the glucose and lipid levels before and after treatment showed that with consumption of those arepas favorable changes for the health of the individuals were generated, since there was a statistically significant decrease in serum levels of total cholesterol (- 10.4 mg/dL for guava pectin and - 14.1 mg/dL for citrus pectin), LDL cholesterol (- 7.3 mg/dL for guava pectin and - 10.7 mg/dL for citrus pectin), triglycerides (- 5.2 mg/dL for guava pectin and - 11.7 mg/dL for citrus pectin), and glucose (- 5.1 mg/dL for guava pectin and - 7.0 mg/dL for citrus pectin). Although there is a trend in the results showing an average increase in HDL cholesterol after consumption of products with the two types of pectin, there is no statistical evidence to infer that the change is significant. Similarly, the results indicate no difference between the effects generated by the two types of pectin, except for the greatest decrease in triglyceride levels achieved when citrus pectin was added.