Fig extracts and blood sugar after a glucose drink
What it found
In 10 healthy adults, adding fig fruit extracts to a glucose drink lowered the glycemic index and insulinemic index compared with the drink alone.
The higher doses reduced both by about a quarter.
What they found
Studies in people
Glycemic index
The two higher doses of fig extract (200 mg FFE-50× and 1200 mg FFE-10×) lowered the glycemic index by 25% and 24% compared with the glucose drink alone. The two lower doses lowered it by about 14%, but this was not statistically significant.
Insulinemic index
All four fig extract doses significantly lowered the insulinemic index compared with the glucose drink alone. The reductions were 14% and 24% for FFE-50× at 100 mg and 200 mg, and 16% and 24% for FFE-10× at 600 mg and 1200 mg.
Peak glucose
The higher doses of fig extract led to lower peak blood glucose at 30 minutes compared with the glucose drink alone. The lower doses did not show a significant difference in peak glucose.
Peak insulin
All four fig extract drinks produced significantly lower peak insulin at 30 minutes compared with the glucose drink alone.
Dose response
Increasing the dose of abscisic acid from the fig extracts produced greater reductions in both glycemic index and insulinemic index. This dose-response effect was statistically significant.
Tolerability
The fig extract drinks were palatable and well tolerated. No adverse events were reported.
What the authors conclude
“In summary, our study demonstrated that FFE standardized in ABA, when consumed in relatively small doses, can produce significant and clinically relevant reductions in postprandial glucose and insulin responses to a high-GI glucose drink.”
Also in their conclusions
- They conclude that fig fruit extracts standardized in abscisic acid, when consumed in relatively small doses, can produce significant and clinically relevant reductions in postprandial glucose and insulin responses to a high-GI glucose drink.
- They suggest that supplementation with these extracts may serve as a promising nutritional intervention for managing postprandial glucose homeostasis and metabolic disorders such as prediabetes and type 2 diabetes.
- They call for larger, long-term randomized placebo-controlled trials, including in people with metabolic disorders, to confirm their observations.
How it was done
The authors wanted to see whether fig fruit extracts, which contain abscisic acid, could improve blood sugar and insulin responses after a carbohydrate drink. They note that prediabetes and insulin resistance are growing problems.
Ten healthy adults aged 18 to 45 with normal glucose tolerance took part in a randomized, double-blind crossover study. Each person consumed a reference glucose drink and four test drinks containing different fig fruit extracts and doses, with blood sugar and insulin measured over 2 hours.
What it can’t tell you
- This was a small, short study in 10 healthy adults with normal glucose tolerance, so the results may not apply to people with prediabetes or diabetes.
- The study only looked at acute effects over 2 hours after a single drink, so it cannot show what happens with long-term use.
- The study cannot show whether these extracts prevent or treat any disease.
Who paid
- Conflicts
- A.V., A.M., A.Z., and E.R. are employed by Euromed S.A. The study funders (Euromed S.A.) had no role in the design, collection or analysis of the data. F.A. is the research manager of the Sydney University Glycemic Index Research Service that was contracted to conduct the study, but researchers were blinded to the treatments during the conduct of the study and during data analysis. F.A. is a co-author of popular books on the glycemic index and is a director of the Glycemic Index Foundation.
- Authors work at
- The University of Sydney, Australia; Swinburne University, Australia
The paper
- Title
- Abscisic Acid Standardized Fig ( Ficus carica ) Extracts Ameliorate Postprandial Glycemic and Insulinemic Responses in Healthy Adults
- Type
- Randomised controlled trial
- Evidence
- Studies in people
- Summarised from
- Full text
- Licence
- CC BY. Words in quotation marks are the authors’; the rest is our summary.
- Cite
- Atkinson FS, Villar A, Mulà A, et al (2019). Abscisic Acid Standardized Fig ( Ficus carica ) Extracts Ameliorate Postprandial Glycemic and Insulinemic Responses in Healthy Adults. Nutrients. doi:10.3390/nu11081757Free full textPubMed 31370154DOI
Summary written 30 Sep 2026. Check it against the paper before it changes what you eat. How we summarise papers · Report an error