A small clinical study found that plant-based burgers made with red quinoa and balu pulp caused less of a rise in blood sugar levels than pure glucose, highlighting the potential of sustainable, fiber-rich ingredients in future food formulations.
Study: A plant-based burger with Bal (Dipteryx alata Vogel) pulp and red quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa) may improve blood sugar metabolism in healthy individuals. Image credit: Nina Firsova/Shutterstock.com
Research published in ACS Nutrition Our results suggest that a plant-based burger made from baloo pulp and red quinoa may reduce postprandial glycemic responses in healthy adults.
From Cerrado fruit waste to functional foods
Glycemic index (GI) measures how carbohydrate intake affects blood sugar levels. Although meat and meat products have a low GI and provide high-quality protein, they can have negative effects on the environment, climate, and human health, and may be unacceptable to some parts of society concerned about animal welfare. Plant-based foods rich in fiber, protein, and bioactive compounds are beneficial to human metabolism and have a low GI value.
Replacing red meat with such products may support cardiometabolic health. Val pulp is obtained from unused parts. Dipteryx alata Vogel, a fruit from the Cerrado in Brazil that contains dietary fiber and phytochemicals. Red Quinoa (Pigweed/Quinoa Willd.) is a pseudocereal rich in protein, fiber, and micronutrients.
Both of these ingredients are rich in fiber and provide polyphenols that have been shown to slow gastric emptying and overall digestion, and may reduce enzymatic breakdown of carbohydrates in the intestines. This is thought to affect the rate at which glucose is absorbed into the bloodstream after a meal, changing the GI value.
The authors of this pilot study tested the GI in a small sample of eight volunteers after eating two plant-based burgers. One was made with baloop and red quinoa, and the other was made with just red quinoa. Seven of the participants were female and all had a normal body mass index (BMI).
Healthy volunteers test two quinoa-based burgers
Healthy volunteers ate the experimental plant-based burgers after an overnight fast, and researchers monitored their blood sugar levels over the next two hours. This response was compared to that elicited by anhydrous glucose, a standard reference food used to calculate the glycemic index (GI).
Both formulations had similar glycemic responses
All three foods had their highest blood sugar levels 30 minutes after consumption. The glucose reference food produced the largest peak at 174 mg/dL, while the Vulp Red Quinoa Burger and Red Quinoa Burger reached substantially lower peaks of 118 mg/dL and 120 mg/dL, respectively. By 120 minutes, blood sugar levels in all groups had decreased.
This pattern is consistent with previous analysis of more than 1,000 foods, which found that blood sugar levels typically peak around 30 minutes after a meal and gradually return to baseline over the next two hours.
When compared to glucose standards, both plant-based burgers had a small increase in blood sugar compared to fasting levels: 15.5% for the red quinoa burger and 18% for the Bal pulp and red quinoa burger.
To further characterize these responses, the researchers used the measured glucose responses and carbohydrate content to calculate the GI and glycemic load (GL) of each burger. Both formulations had a lower postprandial glycemic response than the glucose reference food. Despite these reductions, both burgers were still classified as high GI foods under standard GI categories.
Importantly, the addition of Vulp did not significantly change the GI value. Burgers containing val pulp and red quinoa performed similarly to burgers with red quinoa alone, indicating that both formulations induced comparable glycemic responses.
Burger composition may explain lower glucose peak
Carbohydrates in red quinoa include high levels of xylose and maltose (more than 100 mg/100 g) and low levels of glucose and fructose (less than 20 mg/100 g). The carbohydrate content of Baru pulp is even lower, totaling 42 mg/100 g, glucose and fructose about 10 mg/100 g, and sucrose 20 mg/100 g.
Previous research suggests that these foods contain high levels of polyphenols, which can bind to and inhibit the alpha-glucosidase enzyme in the intestinal lining. The authors suggest that this may reduce the efficient breakdown of disaccharides into monosaccharides, delaying digestion, and lowering blood glucose peaks.
The rich fiber content provides carbohydrates that cannot be hydrolyzed by human enzymes, but can be partially broken down by microbial enzymes in the large intestine. Previous research suggests this may promote satiety and slow carbohydrate digestion and absorption. Fiber also thickens the fluid in your intestines, which means food stays in your stomach longer, which can further reduce glucose absorption. The authors also note that protein and fat content may contribute to delayed glucose absorption and reduced glycemic response.
This approach suggests a way to utilize the bulpu pulp, which is usually discarded during balu fruit processing, as the edible grain attracts commercial attention. Finding food uses for the pulp could help generate added value from crops, reduce food waste, and increase economic interest in protecting Balu trees and the biodiverse Cerrado biome in which they grow.
Plant-based burgers can help control blood sugar
These findings suggest that incorporating BP and RQ into burger formulations results in lower postprandial glycemic responses than standard food, supporting their potential as food ingredients.
This is a small exploratory study involving only healthy, normal weight participants (mostly women), limiting generalizability. Only short-term reactions were reported from two specific hamburger formulations. Further studies are needed to validate these findings, apply them to groups with cardiometabolic risk factors, and examine whether the benefits persist over time.
The study also found no evidence that the addition of bulp pulp provided a significant benefit in raising blood sugar levels compared to red quinoa-only burgers.
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Reference magazines:
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Campos, SC, Egea, MB (2026). A plant-based burger with Dipteryx alata Vogel pulp and red quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa) can improve blood sugar metabolism in healthy people. ACS Nutrition. Toi: https://doi.org/10.1021/acsnutrsci.6c00019. https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acsnutrsci.6c00019
