Research Topic: Impact of processing operations on starch digestibility and content of resistant starch
Abstract: ** Lecture will be given in English**
Starch digestibility strongly influences glycemic response and gut health and is governed by the relative fractions of rapidly digestible (RDS), slowly digestible (SDS), and resistant starch (RS). This doctoral research investigates physical modification and starch blending as clean-label strategies for enhancing type 3 resistant starch (RS3). First, a structured review mined the literature and challenged the use of AI in qualitative mining of studies. This review showed that autoclaving followed by retrogradation produced the greatest RS increases in starches, whereas heat–moisture treatment primarily reduced RDS and increased SDS and RS. AI-assisted searches identified only 28 relevant articles, demonstrating their value for preliminary screening but not as substitutes for rigorous human-led review. Moreover, the review identified considerable gaps in methodological harmonization and alignment of starch analyses. Experimentally, potato starch was treated by autoclaving or high hydrostatic pressure and retrograded at 4 or 40°C. Autoclaving followed by retrogradation at 40°C yielded the highest RS content (2.86% w/w), whereas pressure treatment largely preserved native granule structure and produced little RS. FTIR 1045/1022 ratio strongly correlated with RS content, supporting its use as a rapid, non-destructive indicator. Lastly, blending potato starch with high-amylose corn starch before autoclaving generated synergistic RS enhancement, likely through the formation of a compact retrograded amylose barrier around starch granules. Overall, these findings establish scalable, clean-label approaches for designing starch-based foods with improved digestive performance.
