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Food Applications of RS
RS is considered to be safe for human consumption. It is a valuable food ingredient
and has enjoyed considerable interest particularly from researchers and food developers. This is due to two reasons, the first being its potential physiological effects
(increased laxation, lowering cholesterol levels, reduced risk of cancers, lowering
postprandial glucose response, prevention of gall stone formation and others) and
the second being its unique functional properties. It can be rightly referred to as a
functional fiber as it permits high nutritional claim and desirable physiochemical
properties such as water-binding capacity, swelling, gel- formation, viscosity
enhancement. As the consumption of processed food is increasing at an alarming
rate, with fewer vegetables and fruits, the proportion of RS in food has gone down.
Therefore, incorporating RS in food products has become increasingly important.
RS containing foods exhibit better sensory properties compared with traditional
fiber- containing foods (bran and gums) which are denser, coarser and less palatable
than the former.
The low water- holding capacity of RS is responsible improving the texture of
the finished product (Yue and Waring 1998). It does not impart its own flavor to the
product and provides improved expansion, crispiness, better mouth feel, and color
to the final product (Sajilata et al. 2006). They may be used to increase the fiber
content of low carbohydrate foods consumed by people following strict diet regimes,
providing all the essential fiber without increasing the caloric value of food (Nugent
2005). RS has a lower calorific value (8 kJ/g) and can therefore be substitutive of
digestible carbohydrates, lowering the energy value of the final product. RS also
finds use in fermented foods such as sausages. The addition of RS in pastas, beverages and baked products enhances health benefits and textural properties of the
products.
Resistant Starch as Prebiotic
The recent upsurge in urbanization and industrialization has caused a drastic and
dramatic change in the lifestyle and eating habits of people globally. This has led to
many lifestyle- related diseases like cancer, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases,
immunodeficiency, obesity, etc. Therefore, to tackle these conditions, people are
now becoming conscious and are switching to much healthier natural products that
can improve their metabolism and make them healthier and fitter. Lately, prebiotics
have received much attention from the researchers as well as from the prebiotic
ingredient manufacturers because of the advantageous effects conferred by them on
human health. As the demand for healthier and wholesome food is increasing, the
food and beverage manufacturers are focusing on research and development activities to boost the nutritional and functional profile of foods by incorporating prebiotic rich ingredients into their products such as health drinks, dairy products,
Recent Advances in the Application of Starch and Resistant Starch
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