Abstract
Resistant Starch (RS) is one of nature’s most interesting bioactive compounds. There is a wide variety of starchy food plants in Thailand that are good sources of RS, but they have not been well studied. As such, this study was carried out to investigate the potential food source of RS. Twenty-two promising food plants were selected. The samples included (1) cereals comprised of five long grain rice of O. sativa L. and sweet corn, (2) six species of root and tuber crops, (3) green banana fruits (Musa sapientum L.) composed of ABB group, AAB group and AAA group at the first stage of ripening and (4) legume seeds included cowpea seeds (3 different cultivars), red bean, red kidney bean and mung bean. All food plants were determined for chemical compositions, resistant starch, non-resistant starch, total starch and amylose content. The study found that the starchy foods varied in their chemical compositions. The major composition of all foods was carbohydrate ranging between 58.19 (in black speck cow pea) and 87.21% (in cassava root), whilst the fat, ash and fiber were observed only in small quantities. The protein content was highest in legume seeds (20.78 to 27.22%). For the study on starch compositions, green bananas contained highest amount of resistant starch ranging between 35.14 and 45.87%, indicating that more than a half of total starch in banana RS content varying from 35.14 to 45.87%, whereas the RS content of legumes ranging from 2.33 to 10.63% and 1.16 to 4.85% in cereal grains. Most of the starchy food plants contained moderate to high level of amylose (11.45-34.85%), except the waxy rice (2.72%).
Highlights
Functional foods are foods that provide health benefits beyond basic nutrition
The cereal samples had average moisture content varying between 7.94 and 9.44%. These values were lower than the limit value of 14%, the recommendation for safe storage of processed rice (Howell and Cogburn, 2004)
The results showed that green banana samples were good sources of Resistant Starch (RS), ranging between 35.14 and 45.87%, while the non-resistant starch varied from 19.38 to 31.99%
Summary
Functional foods are foods that provide health benefits beyond basic nutrition They typically contain certain physiologically active components which may or may not have been manipulated or modified to enhance their bioactivity. These foods may help prevent disease, reduce the risk of developing disease, or enhance health (Hasler and Brown, 2009). RS type 4 (RS4) is chemically modified to resist degradation by digestive enzymes. This type of resistant starch can have a wide variety of structures and is not found in nature (Fuentes-Zaragoza et al, 2010; AparicioSaguilan et al, 2007; Sanz et al, 2009)
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
