Molecular, mesoscopic and microscopic structure evolution during amylase digestion of extruded maize and high amylose maize starches.

Extrusion processing of cereal starch granules with high (>50%) amylose content is a promising approach to create nutritionally desirable resistant starch, i.e. starch that escapes digestion in the small intestine.

Optimisation of resistant starch II and III levels in durum wheat pasta to reduce in vitro digestibility while maintaining processing and sensory characteristics.

Foods with elevated levels of resistant starch (RS) may have beneficial effects on human health. Pasta was enriched with commercial resistant starches (RSII, Hi Maize™ 1043; RSIII, Novelose 330™) at 10%, 20% and 50% substitution of semolina for RSII and 10% and 20% for RSIII and compared with pasta made from 100% durum wheat semolina to investigate technological, sensory, in vitro starch digestibility and structural properties. The resultant RS content of pasta increased from 1.

Molecular, mesoscopic and microscopic structure evolution during amylase digestion of maize starch granules.

Cereal starch granules with high (>50%) amylose content are a promising source of nutritionally desirable resistant starch, i.e. starch that escapes digestion in the small intestine, but the structural features responsible are not fully understood.

Differential effects of genetically distinct mechanisms of elevating amylose on barley starch characteristics.

The relationships between starch structure and functionality are important in underpinning the industrial and nutritional utilisation of starches. In this work, the relationships between the biosynthesis, structure, molecular organisation and functionality have been examined using a series of defined genotypes in barley with low (<20%), standard (20-30%), elevated (30-50%) and high (>50%) amylose starches. A range of techniques have been employed to determine starch physical features, higher order structure and functionality.

Effect of enzymatic hydrolysis on native starch granule structure.

Enzymatic digestion of six starches of different botanical origin was studied in real time by in situ time-resolved small-angle neutron scattering (SANS) and complemented by the analysis of native and digested material by X-ray diffraction, differential scanning calorimetry, small-angle X-ray scattering, and scanning electron microscopy with the aim of following changes in starch granule nanostructure during enzymatic digestion. This range of techniques enables coverage over five orders of length-scale, as is necessary for this hierarchically structured material. Starches studied varied in their digestibility and displayed structural differences in the course of enzymatic digestion.