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chains but liberates longer chains which then are used to form resistant starch.<br />

Initially when starch is partially debranched and is allowed to retrograde, imperfect<br />

packing of helices in crystallites might be taking place leaving some tight amorphous<br />

regions which can be digested slowly.<br />

The cooperatively interacting length which gives rise to an ordered chain<br />

structure and the density which results from packing might be playing an important<br />

role in the digestibility of these starches. Therefore if the objective is to have high<br />

amount of resistant starch, then the starch needs to be highly debranched by using<br />

non-waxy starch. Longer and complete debranching times promote formation of<br />

resistant starch. Cooling at 15 o C had greatest reduction in starch digestibility was<br />

observed with the highest amount of resistant starch (Guraya et al. (2001a). This<br />

temperature favours nucleation as well as propagation and maturation of crystals.<br />

Rapidly cooling and storing the debranched starch at 1 o C had lower starch<br />

digestibility.<br />

4. Starch Digestive Enzymes<br />

Although glucose can be absorbed from the small intestine (especially<br />

terminal end of the duodenum and jejunum), but maltose and dextrin generated from<br />

starch hydrolysis cannot. Absorptive epithelial cells which line the intestinal villi<br />

produce a number of other ‘brush border’ enzymes to allow for digestion and<br />

subsequent absorption of such materials (disaccharides derived from other sources).<br />

These enzymes are not released into the lumen of the small intestine but are bound to<br />

the membrane of microvilli (Ronald and Matin, 1992).<br />

Consequently, some carbohydrate occurs at the surface of epithelia cells in the<br />

small intestine rather than the lumen of the gut. Brush border enzymes include<br />

sucrase, converting sucrose to glucose and fructose and lactase converting lactose to<br />

glucose and galactose, but these are not relevant to starch metabolism. A trehalase<br />

(converts trehalose to two glucose molecule) is also present. However, maltase<br />

(converting maltose generated from α-amylase activity to glucose) and isomaltase<br />

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