Structural factors governing starch digestion and glycemic responses and how they can be modified by enzymatic approaches: A review and a guide.

Starch is the most abundant glycemic carbohydrate in the human diet. Consumption of starch-rich food products that elicit high glycemic responses has been linked to the occurrence of noncommunicable diseases such as cardiovascular disease and diabetes mellitus type II. Understanding the structural features that govern starch digestibility is a prerequisite for developing strategies to mitigate any negative health implications it may have. Here, we review the aspects of the fine molecular structure that in native, gelatinized, and gelled/retrograded starch directly impact its digestibility and thus human health. We next provide an informed guidance for lowering its digestibility by using specific enzymes tailoring its molecular and three-dimensional supramolecular structure. We finally discuss in vivo studies of the glycemic responses to enzymatically modified starches and relevant food applications. Overall, structure-digestibility relationships provide opportunities for targeted modification of starch during food production and improving the nutritional profile of starchy foods.

The impact of liquid preloads varying in macronutrient content on postprandial kinetics of amino acids relative to appetite in healthy adults.

The underlying mechanisms for the effect of proteins on appetite regulation, especially in presence of variable macronutrient composition, are not fully elucidated. The present study investigated the absorption kinetics of proteins after co-ingestion with the other macronutrients and examined the impact of circulating amino acids on appetite and satiety-related gut hormones. A randomized, within-subjects, 2-level full factorial design was implemented, where thirty six healthy subjects consumed seven preloads with similar energy density (3.1 kJ/g) and volume (670 mL) but with varying macronutrient content. The energy from protein (%) and the CHO:fat ratio were the two factors combined in three levels of 9, 24, 40 and 0.4, 2, 3.6 respectively. Blood and appetite parameters were evaluated until the serving of the ad libitum lunch after 210 min and the amino acid concentrations were measured in a subgroup of seven male subjects. The amino acid concentrations peaked at 90 min after all preloads and returned to the baseline values until 210 min. Protein intake affected amino acid profiles (P < 0.05), while no differences (P > 0.05) were detected between the two high protein preloads despite the different CHO:fat ratio (40%/0.4 CHO:fat and 40%/3.6 CHO:fat), indicating that neither carbohydrate nor fat influenced the profiles. Most of the amino acids were not related to appetite sensations or gut hormones (P > 0.05), while glutamate was positively associated with prospective consumption and inversely related to ghrelin (P < 0.05). Valine, leucine, isoleucine, lysine and α-aminobutyric acid were inversely associated with energy intake (P < 0.05). Overall, postprandial amino acid profiles were solely affected by protein content and were not consistently related to appetite regulation. Further investigation of glutamate's effect on appetite is needed.

Promotion of starch retrogradation by enzymatic elongation of amylopectin chains does not reduce glycemic responses: a randomized cross-over clinical trial.

The molecular structure of amylopectin (AP) governs the propensity of its chains to re-associate into crystalline arrangements after starch gelatinization. Amylose (AM) crystallization and AP re-crystallization (i.e. retrogradation) decrease starch digestibility. The aim of this work was to enzymatically elongate AP chains using an amylomaltase (AMM, i.e. 4-α-glucanotransferase) from Thermus thermophilus to promote AP retrogradation and to investigate the impact thereof on in vivo glycemic responses in healthy subjects. Participants (n = 32) consumed two oatmeal porridges (containing 22.5 g available carbohydrates) prepared with or without the enzymatic modification and stored at 4 °C for 24 h. Finger-prick blood samples were taken fasting and at intervals during 3 h following test-meal consumption. The incremental area under the curve (iAUC0-180) was determined. The AMM was very effective at elongating the AP chains at the expense of AM, resulting in increased retrogradation capacity upon storage at low temperature. Nevertheless, postprandial glycemic responses were not different after consumption of either the AMM modified oatmeal porridge or its unmodified counterpart (iAUC0-180 = 73 ± 30 vs. 82 ± 43 mmol min L-1, respectively; p = 0.17). Unexpectedly, promoting starch retrogradation by selectively modifying its molecular structure did not result in reduced glycemic responses, challenging the notion that starch retrogradation negatively impacts glycemic responses in vivo.

Use of Amylomaltase to Steer the Functional and Nutritional Properties of Wheat Starch.

The fine molecular structure of starch governs its functionality and digestibility, and enzymatic approaches can be utilized to tailor its properties. The aim of this study was to investigate the in situ modification of starch by amylomaltase (AMM) from Thermus thermophilus in model starch systems subjected to hydrothermal treatments under standardized conditions and the relationship between molecular structure, rheological properties and in vitro digestibility. When low dosages of AMM were added to a wheat starch suspension prior to submitting it to a temperature-time profile in a Rapid Visco Analyzer, the increased peak viscosity observed was attributed to partial depolymerization of amylose, which facilitated starch swelling and viscosity development. At higher dosages, the effect was smaller. The low cold paste viscosity as a result of the activity of AMM reflected substantial amylose depolymerization. At the same time, amylopectin chains were substantially elongated. The longer amylopectin chains were positively correlated (R2 = 0.96) with the melting enthalpies of retrograded starches, which, in turn, were negatively correlated with the extent (R2 = 0.92) and rate (R2 = 0.79) of in vitro digestion. It was concluded that AMM has the potential to be used to deliver novel starch functionalities and enhance its nutritional properties.

Investigation of starch functionality and digestibility in white wheat bread produced from a recipe containing added maltogenic amylase or amylomaltase.

In the crumb of fresh white wheat bread, starch is fully gelatinized. Its molecular and three-dimensional structure are major factors limiting the rate of its digestion. The aim of this study was to in situ modify starch during bread making with starch-modifying enzymes (maltogenic amylase and amylomaltase) and to investigate the impact thereof on bread characteristics, starch retrogradation and digestibility. Maltogenic amylase treatment increased the relative content of short amylopectin chains (degree of polymerization ≤ 8). This resulted in lower starch retrogradation and crumb firmness upon storage, and reduced extent (up to 18%) of in vitro starch digestion for fresh and stored breads. Amylomaltase only modestly shortened amylose chains and had no measurable impact on amylopectin structure. Modification with this enzyme led to slower bread crumb firming but did not influence starch digestibility.

Differences in endosperm cell wall integrity in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) milling fractions impact on the way starch responds to gelatinization and pasting treatments and its subsequent enzymatic in vitro digestibility.

Wheat grain roller milling disrupts starch containing endosperm cell walls and extracts white flour. Many wheat based food processes involve simultaneous use of heat and water which then cause starch to gelatinize and enhance its digestibility. In this study, the impact of starch enclosure in intact endosperm cell walls on starch physicochemical properties and digestibility was investigated. Wheat kernels milled into coarse farina (average particle size: 705 µm) contained a substantial portion of intact cells and exhibited 15-30% lower Rapid Visco Analyzer peak viscosity readings than flour and fine farina (average particle size: 85 and 330 µm, respectively) since its higher level of intact cell walls limited the swelling of the enclosed starch. Xylanase use in situ substantially degraded coarse farina cell walls and increased their swelling and viscosifying potential. Following full gelatinization of the different samples, the starch in coarse farina was digested at a 40% lower rate in an in vitro gastrointestinal digestion assay, but still to a similar extent to that in fully gelatinized flour. This indicates that while wheat endosperm cell walls are permeable to pancreatic amylase, they can sufficiently slow down enzyme diffusion. When xylanase treatment was performed after starch gelatinization and pasting, the rates of starch digestion were similar for all samples evidencing that cell walls act as physical barriers to enzyme diffusion and thus retard its digestion. The present findings offer ways to produce wheat-based foods with sustained energy release benefits.