Resistant Starch: A Boon for Healthy Foods

Ingredients

- Monica Oswal, P.Divya and P.SureshKumar

INTRODUCTION

At present, magnificent significance is given to functional foods, which grant health advantages besides simple nutrition that impact to decrease the threat of non-communicable diseases. Resistant starch (RS) which is identified as a kind of dietary fibre could be used as an ingredient in functional foods. Both public health authorities and nutritionists agreed that consumption of foods rich in dietary fibre, which aids to get rid of obesity, coronary heart diseases, diabetes and cancer. With the higher CAGR of more than 10% every year, processed food industry is in search of easy-to-use functional compounds in the making of healthy foods in large volume.

RESISTANT STARCH

The term “Resistant Starch” is defined as the fraction of starch that is resistant to digestion by α-amylase and pullulanase enzymes in vitro and may be fermented in the colon. In general, resistant starch is the fraction of starch, which escapes digestion in the small intestine but may be fermented in the colon. The end-products of fermentation are carbon dioxide, hydrogen, methane, and short chain fatty acids (SCFAs). Chemically resistant starch is measured as the difference between total starch (TS) and the sum of rapidly digestible starch (RDS) and slowly digestible starch (SDS).

Resistant starch types

• RS1 - The compact molecular structure of starch limits the accessibility of digestive enzymes. The starch is physically inaccessible to the digestive enzymes as in seeds, grains and tubers

• RS2 - The starch granules are configured in such a way which prevents their digestion, for example, unripe bananas, raw potatoes, and high amylose maize starch