Stability of starch-proanthocyanidin complexes to in-vitro amylase digestion after hydrothermal processing

Proanthocyanidins (PA) form poorly digestible complexes with starch. The study examined amylase degradation mechanism and hydrothermal stability of starch-PA complexes. Sorghum-derived PA was complexed with wheat starch, reconstituted into flour (10% gluten added) and processed into crackers and pancakes. In vitro digestion profile of the complexes and products were characterized. The starch-PA complexes retained more (34–84%) fragments with degree of polymerization (DP) > 6,000 after 120 min digestion than controls (0–21%). Debranching further revealed higher retention of DP 11 – 30 chains in the digested starch-PA complexes than controls, suggesting amylopectin complexation contributed to reduced starch digestion. Starch-PA complexes retained reduced digestibility (50–56% higher resistant starch vs controls) in the cracker, but not pancake model. However, removing gluten from the pancake formulation restored the reduced digestibility of the starch-PA complexes. The starch-PA complexes are stable to hydrothermal processing, but can be disrupted by hydrophobic gluten proteins under excess moisture conditions.