Suppression of increased blood glucose levels in mice by Awa-ban tea following oral administration of mono- and disaccharides

Awa-ban tea is a uniquely flavored, pickled and anaerobically fermented tea found only in the Tokushima prefecture in the Shikoku region of Japan. Diabetes is a major health problem worldwide. Here, we report that Awa-ban tea suppressed the increase in blood glucose levels after oral administration of maltose, sucrose, or glucose in mice (n = 9-54). Awa-ban tea suppressed the area under the curve (AUC) of blood glucose by 72-83%. Thus, we propose that Awa-ban tea can be used as an alternative functional beverage for diabetes prevention.