Influence of corn variety, drying temperature, and moisture content at harvest on the saccharides released during an in vitro pepsin‐pancreatin digestion

Abstract

High‐performance anion‐exchange chromatography coupled with pulsed amperometric detection (HPAEC‐PAD) was used to quantify and to determine the nature of saccharides released after the digestion of two corn grains submitted to different drying and harvesting protocols. Five saccharides were quantified: glucose, maltose, isomaltose, maltotriose, and glucosyl‐maltotriose. After a subsequent hydrolysis with amyloglucosidase of the released saccharides, the amount of total glucose recovered increased with the increase in drying temperature and the moisture content of grain at harvest. These results suggest that structural changes induced within corn starch granules during drying affect their hydrolysis by amylases. These changes may lead to different pathways of sugar absorption in the small intestine of monogastrics. Thus, corn grains with a similar composition may lead to different levels of metabolizable energy upon gastro‐intestinal digestion.