DIGESTIBILITY OF STARCHES MODIFIED BY ORGANIC ACID/ACETIC ANHYDRIDE MIXTURES
Resistant starch (RS) is increasingly drawing interest due to its potential health benefits and functional properties. It is physiologically important starch fraction, usually present in small amounts in foods. RS is not digested in small intestine, but is fermented by microorganisms in large intestine. Therefore, RS has properties of fibers and prebiotics and can play major role in nutrition. Today, much effort is made to produce chemically modified resistant starches. The aim of this study was to investigate influence of tapioca and maize starch modification by glutaric acid/acetanhydride and succinic acid/acetanhydride mixtures on their digestibility. Starches were modified according to method by Wurzburg and its digestibility was determined by AOAC 2002.02 method. Results showed that, both for tapioca and maize starch, RS/total starch ratio increased approximately by twofold by modification with succinic acid/acetanhydride mixture. Modification of tapioca starch by glutaric acid/acetanhydride mixture resulted in decrease of digestibility, with 1.44 times increase of RS/total starch ratio, while at maize starch it resulted in slight increase of digestibility. These results indicate that modification of starch with succinic acid/acetanhydride mixture has great potential in production of chemically modified resistant starch.