Starch digestibility of foods: A nutritional perspective

Abstract

Dietary starch varies greatly in digestibility and its effects on the utilization of other nutrients. The variation appears to be due to differences in starch components and their crystallinity. Processing treatments, storage conditions, chemical modification, and genetic breeding influence the digestibility of starch. Cereal starches are generally more digestible than root/tuber and legume starches. Although cooking often significantly improves the digestibility of poor and intermediately digestible starches, some foods such as bananas with starches of these types are consumed uncooked. The efficient digestion of starch is especially important to specific groups of people such as infants under 6 months of age. Ruminants must also be provided with highly digestible starch to assure maximum production efficiency. Poor digestibility of starch may have negative effects on the utilization of protein and minerals but is likely to have positive effects on the availability of certain vitamins. Decreases in the rate of starch digestion may have therapeutic application. Most clinical studies have reported that starch blockers do not elicit a significant decrease in the digestion of starch in humans. Much remains to be learned, clarified, and understood about starch digestion and its effects on diabetes and weight control.

Flavor preferences conditioned with starch in rats

“…Although flavor preferences can be conditioned by postingestive events when rats are offered reinforced and nonreinforced solutions simultaneously (Baker & Booth, 1989;Drucker, Ackroff, & Sclafani, 1993), such a procedure should not produce optimal conditioning. The reason for this is that carbohydrate digestion can take many minutes, or even hours (Dreher, Dreher, & Berry, 1984); a rat that ingests a fluid, and then ingests another before the first is fully digested, should find it difficult to learn which fluid produced the delayed postingestive effect. The influence of this factor should be particularly severe with starch because starch is digested more slowly than are sugars (Malik, Trout, Emamali, & Brendza, 1982).…”

Effect of heat—moisture treatment on the structure and physicochemical properties of legume starches

“…Starch digestibi lity will vary depending on the starch source, and on processing and sto rage conditions (Dreher et al, 1984 ). Legume starch es in foods are more digestible than tuber and high amylose maize starc hes, but less digestible than cereal starches (Dreher et oi ;1984; Hoover & Sosu lski.…”

Studies on Vigna mango L. - Effect of Processing on Carbohydrate Fractionation and Influence of Grain Starch on Protein Utilization in Albino Rats

“…Other antinutrients like phytic acid, saponin and polypheriols also have significant effect on the digestibility of legumes (Kataria et al, 1989). Poor digestibility of starch have negative effects on the utilization of proteins and minerals and decrease in the rate of starch digestion may have therapeutic application (Dreher et al, 1984). The digestibility can be improved through different processing and cooking methods (Kataria et al, 1992;Shashikala and Prakash, 1995).…”