Measurement of resistant starch

Area of Science:

• Food Science and Technology
• Nutritional Biochemistry
• Analytical Chemistry

Background:

• Resistant starch (RS) plays a crucial role in gut health, acting as a prebiotic and influencing colonic fermentation.
• Accurate measurement of RS is essential for understanding its physiological effects and for food product development.
• Existing methods for RS determination often lack user-friendliness or do not fully reflect in vivo conditions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate a robust, reliable, and user-friendly method for quantifying resistant starch (RS).
• To optimize assay parameters to closely mimic in vivo conditions in the large intestine.
• To ensure the method's applicability and reproducibility through interlaboratory evaluation.

Main Methods:

• Investigated key parameters including alpha-amylase concentration, incubation pH, and maltose inhibition.
• Assessed the necessity of amyloglucosidase and the impact of mechanical agitation (shaking/stirring).
• Addressed challenges related to the recovery and analysis of the RS-containing pellet.

Main Results:

• The developed method demonstrated robustness and reliability in measuring resistant starch.
• Optimized parameters ensured the assay closely reflected in vivo conditions.
• Obtained RS values showed good agreement with previously published in vivo data.

Conclusions:

• A user-friendly and reliable method for resistant starch measurement was successfully established.
• The method's validation through interlaboratory testing (First Action Method 2002.02) confirms its suitability for routine analysis.
• This validated method facilitates accurate assessment of resistant starch content in various food matrices.