Effect of Oat Beta-Glucan on Physicochemical Properties and Digestibility of Fava Bean Starch

The current research examined the impact of different concentrations of oat beta-glucan (OG) on the in vitro digestibility of fava bean starch (FS). Our pasting analysis demonstrated that OG effectively decreased the viscosity and regrowth of FS, suppressing its in situ regrowth while enhancing the in vitro pasting temperature. Moreover, OG markedly diminished amylose leaching and minimized the particle size of the pasted starch. Rheological and textural evaluations demonstrated that OG markedly diminished the viscoelasticity of the starch and softened the gel strength of the composite system. Structural analysis revealed that hydrogen bonding is the primary interaction in the FS-OG system, indicating that OG interacts with amylose through hydrogen bonding, thereby delaying starch pasting and enhancing the gelatinization characteristics of FS gels. Notably, the incorporation of OG resulted in a reduction in the levels of rapidly digestible starch (RDS) and slowly digestible starch (SDS) in FS, accompanied by a notable increase in resistant starch (RS) content, from 21.30% to 31.82%. This study offers crucial insights for the application of OG in starch-based functional foods.