The relationship between starch digestion and glucagon-like peptide-1 secretion: implications for functional food...

The escalating global prevalence of metabolic syndromes has intensified the search for effective dietary strategies. As the primary dietary carbohydrate, starch plays a critical role in postprandial metabolism by virtue of its digestion dynamics. A key regulator in this process is the gut hormone glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1), which governs glycemic control and satiety. This review synthesizes recent advances in our understanding of the interplay between starch digestion and GLP-1 secretion, which is a potentially important yet not yet fully explored physiological pathway. Notably, slowly digestible and resistant starches appear to promote GLP-1 release by delivering their digestion by-products, namely glucose and short-chain fatty acids, respectively, to distal gut L-cells. Conversely, GLP-1 modulates starch digestion and suppresses appetite by delaying gastric emptying, an effect mediated by both the endocrine pathway and local paracrine activation of vagal afferents (via GLP-1 receptors) within the gut-brain axis. By examining the mechanistic links between starch multiscale structure, spanning from molecular architecture to food matrix integrity, and enteroendocrine function, we propose a framework for designing functional foods that support endogenous GLP-1 activity. Such synergistic strategies offer a promising and sustainable complement to pharmacological interventions for improving postprandial glycemia and overall metabolic health.