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Background: Zingiber officinale Roscoe (ginger) is a spice widely used and has been suggested to act beneficially on salivary secretion. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of ingestion of a ginger infusionin the salivary flow rate of smokers with reduced salivary secretion. Subjects and Methods: After review board and Ethic Committee of the State approval, sixteen smokers with reduced salivary flow were assigned in an auto-controlled study. The intervention consisted in the ingestion of a 250 mL ginger infusion with 0.5 g, three times a day for 28 days. Non-stimulated (Qns) and stimulated (Qss) saliva collection was performed by sialometry before and after the ingestion of the ginger infusion.A survey was used to collect age and smoking habits information. Chemical analysis was performed, in the ginger infusion, to quantify the total phenolic content (TFC) by Folin Ciocalteu method and antioxidant activity (AA) by ABTS•+ and O2•− methods. The paired samples t-Student’s test and Spearman's correlation coefficient were used, at a significance level of 5%. Results: A statistically significant increase (p

Background: Previous studies suggest that cinnamon can reduce postprandial glycaemia through enhance insulin sensitivity in healthy adults. The aim of this study was to study the effect of cinnamon (C. burmannii) addition to a high-sugar semi-solid food on the postprandial blood glucose response on non-diabetic subjects and to characterize the antioxidant activity of this meal. Methods: Twenty four non-diabetic participants were included in a randomized clinical trial and assigned in two groups: Group A (reference meal) or group B (test meal). The blood glucose concentration was measured before the ingestion of the meals and at 30, 60, 90 and 120 minutes after the start of the meal. The test meal used consisted of 100 g of mousse mixed with 3 g of cinnamon. Chemical analysis was performed to quantify total phenolic content (Folin-Ciocalteu method) and antioxidant activity (Ferric Reducing Antioxidant Potential assay- FRAP). Results: The postprandial blood glucose levels AUCs slightly increased with the addition of 3 g of C. burmannii. However, the statistical analysis revealed that differences on AUCs and postprandial blood glucose values, between groups, were not significant. Chemical analysis showed that addition of C. burmannii (3g) to the mousse, increased the total phenolic content and the antioxidant activity. Conclusions: The results provide evidence that inclusion of cinnamon in the mousse increased the phenolic content and the antioxidant activity of a semi-solid high-sugar meal, and did not improve glucose response in healthy subjects.

Glycaemic control, in particular at postprandial period, has a key role in prevention of different diseases, including diabetes and cardiovascular events. Previous studies suggest that postprandial high blood glucose levels (BGL) can lead to an oxidative stress status, which is associated with metabolic alterations. Cinnamon powder has demonstrated a beneficial effect on postprandial glucose homeostasis in animals and human models. The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of cinnamon tea (C. burmannii) on postprandial capillary blood glucose level on nondiabetic adults. Participants were given oral glucose tolerance test either with or without cinnamon tea in a randomized clinical trial. The data revealed that cinnamon tea administration slightly decreased postprandial BGL. Cinnamon tea ingestion also results in a significantly lower postprandial maximum glucose concentration and variation of maximum glucose concentration (p< 0.05). Chemical analysis showed that cinnamon tea has a high antioxidant capacity, which may be due to its polyphenol content. The present study provides evidence that cinnamon tea, obtained fromC. burmannii, could be beneficial for controlling glucose metabolism in nondiabetic adults during postprandial period.