[Nutritional evaluation of green plantain flour dehydrated soups. Starch in vitro digestibility]

Previous works have shown that green plantain flour (GPF) contains a considerable amount of resistant with similar effects to dietary fiber. In order to diversify the use of this fruit the purpose of present study was to formulate and elaborate powered, dehydrated, cream type soups with green plantain flour flavored with vegetables (onion, coriander and leak) which increase the dietary fiber content of the preparation. Green plantain was peeled, cut in medium size pieces and submerged in 0.1% citric acid solution. The dehydration process was forced air-drying (80 degrees C), followed by milling. The same procedure was applied to the flavoring vegetables. To obtain the cream type soups various formulations were tried containing 50-63% resistant starch, 11.7-12% dietary fiber 6.5-6.9% protein. The mineral content of the preparations is reported. Viscosity of 1:10 (w/v) soups was 630-670 cps. In vitro starch digestibility after 6 hours was 38% with porcine amylase, increasing to 48% if the enzyme was from bacterial origin, supporting previous results that suggest resistance to hydrolysis of green plantain (GP) starch granules. In conclusion this study diversifies the use of GP and suggests that dehydrated GPF soups due to their high dietary fiber, resistant starch content and to the slow starch hydrolysis may be used in special nutrition regimes.