Objective: To study the influence of soybean fibers on blood sugar, blood-lipid metabolism, and histomorphology in mice models with diabetes mellitus (DM).
Method: After normal mice and mice with Streptozocin (STZ)-induced DM were fed with forage containing a certain amount of soybean fiber (SF) for 5 weeks, blood sugar and blood lipid were determined, and morphological changes of hepatic and nephritic tissues were observed.
Result: The results of 5-week experiment had shown: 1. In normal mice fed with SF, the blood sugar level was decreased (P < 0.05). There were no obvious changes in serum total cholesterol (TC) and the triglyceride (TG). The high-density-lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) level was increased significantly (P < 0.05); 2. Among DM mice, blood sugar was decreased considerably (P < 0.001), TC and TG also decreased noticeably (P < 0.05), HDL-C increased clearly (P < 0.05); 3. SF has a protective role to the liver and kidney of DM mice.
Conclusion: It is suggested that SF has the function of decreasing blood sugar, blood-lipid and improving their metabolism, and of protecting liver and kidney of DM mice.