Functional food potential: pre-gelatinized banana flour blended with peel powder to regulate glucose absorption in caco-2 cells intestinal model

The growing rates of obesity and diabetes emphasize the importance of developing functional foods that manage glucose absorption. Banana flour and peel, rich in phenolic compounds, hold promise in this area. This study investigated the effects of pre-gelatinized banana flour with peel powder (PGP50) and waffle products made with banana flour and peel (WF_NW) on glucose uptake and consumption in Caco-2 cells, a model for intestinal absorption. We further assessed changes in glucose transporter proteins (SGLT1 and GLUT2) and characterized phenolics in undigested PGP50. Following in vitro digestion, Caco-2 cells exposed to PGP50 and WF_NW showed significantly reduced glucose uptake compared to the control. Furthermore, both PGP50 and WF_NW significantly reduced glucose consumption in Caco-2 cells after 24 h. PGP50 cells utilized 23.96% of the initial glucose, while WF_NW utilized 45.57% of the initial glucose, compared to the control which utilized 70.26%. Additionally, SGLT1 protein expression exhibited a downward trend. These findings suggest that PGP50 and WF_NW have potential as functional food ingredients for glucose management, possibly through modulation of SGLT1. The presence of specific phenolic compounds like flavones, flavanones, and flavanols in PGP50 warrants further investigation into their role in glucose regulation. Graphical Abstract