Recent progress in regulating starch digestibility using natural additives and sustainable processing operations

Abstract

The development of a healthier and more sustainable food supply is a main concern of consumers, industry, governments, and international institutions. Foods containing high levels of rapidly digestible starches have been linked to a rise in the number of people suffering from diet-related chronic diseases. Consequently, there is interest in reducing the digestibility of starch to improve their healthiness. The ability of natural additives including proteins, dietary fibers, and polyphenols, and sustainable processing technologies such as high-intensity ultrasonic, pulsed electric field, non-thermal plasma, γ-ray irradiation that regulate reduce starch digestibility in foods are reviewed. The potential mechanisms of action, advantages, and disadvantages of each approach at inhibiting starch digestibility is highlighted. The potential for commercializing these technologies is discussed, and areas where further research are required are emphasized. Natural additives and sustainable processing operations can effectively reduce the digestibility of starch and inhibit postprandial sugar “spikes” in the bloodstream by adjusting the structural changes, which can be used to create healthier and more sustainable foods and have broad application prospects.

Keywords:

• Green technology
• functional foods
• starch
• digestibility
• sustainability

Acknowledgements

This study was financially supported by the Natural Science Foundation of Jiangsu Province - China (No. BK20200617), National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 32101990), National Key Research and Development Program of China - China (No. 2022YFF1100103).

Disclosure statement

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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Funding

The author(s) reported there is no funding associated with the work featured in this article.