EVALUATION OF PLASMA GLUCOSE AND SERUM LIPID PROFILE LEVELS AMONG STUDENTS IN NNEWI CONSUMING GLYCINE MAX (SOYA BEAN)

Medicinal plants are becoming globally recognized because of their acclaimed therapeutic potentials. This study evaluated the plasma glucose and serum lipid profile levels among university students consuming Glycine max (Soya bean) in Nnewi, Nigeria. A total of thirty (30) apparently healthy male subjects aged between 18 and 30 years were randomly recruited from medical students to serve as both test and control groups. Each subject was advised to abstain from soya bean and similar food consumption for a period of three weeks prior to the commencement of the study. Subsequently, in addition to their normal diet, each of the subjects was given 25 g of soya bean powder before breakfast daily for 30 consecutive days. 6 mls each of baseline and test samples (after an overnight fast) were collected at day 0 and 31 respectively from each subject for the determination of plasma glucose and lipid profile parameters (TC, TG, LDL-C, HDL-C, and VLDL-C) using standard laboratory methods. Results showed no significant alterations in the mean body mass index (BMI), serum concentrations of TC, HDL-C, LDL-C, and plasma glucose, but there were significant decreases in the mean SBP and DBP and increases in the mean serum concentrations of triglyceride and VLDL-C (P<0.05) level of the participants after soya bean consumption compared with the results obtained before soya bean intake respectively (P>0.05). Significant positive correlations were observed in parameters studied after soya bean consumption between SBP vs DBP (r=0.298; p=0.033) and SBP vs HDL-C (r=0.437; p=0.008) respectively. Therefore, it is recommended that further studies involving a larger sample size and a longer period of study be carried out in order to better ascertain the claims laid down in the present study as well as help in further unraveling the mechanisms behind the present findings.