Role of Resistant Starch in Food and Healthcare Industry: A Review

Starches are complex polysaccharides which are notorious to create glucose load in diet. But the advancements in the fields of food chemistry have come up with a fact that there are some starches which can release glucose in controlled manner. They are known as resistant starches. They are basically four types depending upon sources of origin: Type I physical inaccessible starch (RS1), Type II that inhibit the action of enzymes (RS2), Type III retrograded starch (RS3) and Type IV chemically modified starch (RS4). Resistant Starches now a days are used in many sectors of food industry. It has unique physical and chemical properties such as high viscosity, formation of gel and water-binding capacity that make it valuable new food product development. This has enhanced its usage in food industries. The bland flavour and transparency in colour of RS with low water holding property is making them a good encapsulating medium in microencapsulation of probiotics. They are known to have low glycemic index and good impact on bowel health by acting as prebiotic to the gut microflora. Their demand in the food industry is arisen to the extent that normal starches are retrograded to convert them to RS. Impact of dry and wet heat methods of cooking on content of resistant starches in several food products have been established by many studies.