Resistant starch-rich wx/ae brown rice prevents insulin resistance and hypertriglyceridaemia in type 2 diabetic NSY mice

Advancements in understanding low starch hydrolysis in pigmented rice: A comprehensive overview of mechanisms

This review explores the health-promoting properties of pigmented rice, focusing on its unique ability to promote slow starch digestion and improve blood sugar regulation. While the impact of slow starch digestibility is widely acknowledged, our current understanding of the underlying mechanisms remains insufficient. Therefore, this review aims to bridge the gap by examining the intricate factors and mechanisms that contribute to the low starch hydrolysis of pigmented rice to better understand how it promotes slower starch digestion and improves blood sugar regulation. This paves the way for future advancements in utilizing pigmented rice by enhancing our understanding of the mechanisms behind low starch hydrolysis. These may include the development of food products aimed at mitigating hyperglycemic symptoms and reducing the risk of diabetes. This research broadens our understanding of pigmented rice and facilitates the development of strategies to promote health outcomes by incorporating pigmented rice into our diets.

The research advance of resistant starch: structural characteristics, modification method, immunomodulatory function, and its delivery systems application

Resistant starch, also known as anti-digestion enzymatic starch, which cannot be digested or absorbed in the human small intestine. It can be fermented in the large intestine into short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) and metabolites, which are advantageous to the human body. Starches can classify as rapidly digestible starch (RDS), slowly digestible starch (SDS), and resistant starch (RS), which possess high thermal stability, low water holding capacity, and emulsification characteristics. Resistant starch has excellent physiological functions such as stabilizing postprandial blood glucose levels, preventing type II diabetes, preventing intestinal inflammation, and regulating gut microbiota phenotype. It is extensively utilized in food processing, delivery system construction, and Pickering emulsion due to its processing properties. The resistant starches, with their higher resistance to enzymatic hydrolysis, support their suitability as a potential drug carrier. Therefore, this review focuses on resistant starch with structural features, modification characteristics, immunomodulatory functions, and delivery system applications. The objective was to provide theoretical guidance for applying of resistant starch to food health related industries.

Whole grain rice: Updated understanding of starch digestibility and the regulation of glucose and lipid metabolism

Nowadays, resulting from disordered glucose and lipid metabolism, metabolic diseases (e.g., hyperglycemia, type 2 diabetes, and obesity) are among the most serious health issues facing humans worldwide. Increasing evidence has confirmed that dietary intervention (with healthy foods) is effective at regulating the metabolic syndrome. Whole grain rice (WGR) rich in dietary fiber and many bioactive compounds (e.g., γ-amino butyric acid, γ-oryzanol, and polyphenols) can not only inhibit starch digestion and prevent rapid increase in the blood glucose level, but also reduce oxidative stress and damage to the liver, thereby regulating glucose and lipid metabolism. The rate of starch digestion is directly related to the blood glucose level in the organism after WGR intake. Therefore, the effects of different factors (e.g., additives, cooking, germination, and physical treatments) on WGR starch digestibility are examined in this review. In addition, the mechanisms from human and animal experiments regarding the correlation between the intake of WGR or its products and the lowered blood glucose and lipid levels and the reduced incidence of diabetes and obesity are discussed. Moreover, information on developing WGR products with the health benefits is provided.

Kudzu Resistant Starch: An Effective Regulator of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus

Kudzu is a traditional medicinal dietary supplement, and recent research has shown its significant benefits in the prevention/treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Starch is one of the main substances in Kudzu that contribute decisively to the treatment of T2DM. However, the underlying mechanism of the hypoglycemic activity is not clear. In this study, the effect of Kudzu resistant starch supplementation on the insulin resistance, gut physical barrier, and gut microbiota was investigated in T2DM mice. The result showed that Kudzu resistant starch could significantly decrease the value of fasting blood glucose and the levels of total cholesterol, total triglyceride, and high-density lipoprotein, as well as low-density lipoprotein, in the blood of T2DM mice. The insulin signaling sensitivity in liver tissue was analyzed; the result indicated that intake of different doses of Kudzu resistant starch can help restore the expression of IRS-1, p-PI3K, p-Akt, and Glut4 and thus enhance the efficiency of insulin synthesis. Furthermore, the intestinal microorganism changes before and after ingestion of Kudzu resistant starch were also analyzed; the result revealed that supplementation of KRS helps to alleviate and improve the dysbiosis of the gut microbiota caused by T2DM. These results validated that Kudzu resistant starch could improve the glucose sensitivity of T2DM mice by modulating IRS-1/PI3K/AKT/Glut4 signaling transduction. Kudzu resistant starch can be used as a promising prebiotic, and it also has beneficial effects on the gut microbiota structure of T2DM mice.

Effects of Rice with Different Amounts of Resistant Starch on Mice Fed a High-Fat Diet: Attenuation of Adipose Weight Gain

Increasing the amount of resistant starch (RS) in the diet may confer protective effects against chronic diseases. Rice, a good dietary source of carbohydrates, also contains RS. However, it remains unclear if RS at the amount consumed in cooked rice has a health benefit. To address the question, we examined the effects of cooked rice containing different levels of RS in a diet-induced obesity rodent model. Rice containing RS as low as 1.07% attenuated adipose weight and adipocyte size gain, induced by a moderately high-fat (HF) diet, which correlated with lower leptin levels in plasma and adipose tissue. Rice with 8.61% RS increased fecal short-chain fatty acid levels, modulated HF-diet-induced adipose triacylglycerol metabolism and inflammation-related gene expression, and increased fecal triglyceride excretion. Hence, including rice with RS level at ≥1.07% may attenuate risks associated with the consumption of a moderately HF diet.

Unripe banana flour (Musa cavendishii) promotes decrease in weight gain and elimination of fecal cholesterol in Wistar rats

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the chemical composition of unripe banana flour from Southeast Brazil and verify its nutritional, physiological and biochemical properties in adult Wistar rats.

Design/methodology/approach

Analysis of soluble solids, titratable acidity, pH, moisture, ash, lipids, proteins, carbohydrate, resistant and total starch and energy was obtained. In all, 18 male Wistar rats were given different concentrations of unripe banana flour (0, 10 and 20 per cent) and these assessments were performed: feed, caloric and water intake; weight gain; coefficient of food efficiency; weight of organs; body, tibia and femur length; total mineral of bones; and biochemistry of blood, hepatic fluids and feces.

Findings

Unripe banana flour showed a potential for weight control as well as increased fecal cholesterol excretion. These results showed the potential of unripe banana flour for obesity treatment and lipid excretion. Nevertheless, plasma triacylglycerol levels increased in the animals that received the largest amount of banana flour (20 per cent w/w), possibly because of the large amount of resistant starch in the flour, indicating the need for additional studies to confirm the mechanisms responsible for this increase.

Originality/value

Unripe banana flour may promote beneficial health effects (such as weight control and increased elimination of cholesterol in feces); however, the large amount of resistant starch present may be responsible for an increase in blood triacyglycerol.

Cactus pear (Opuntia ficus-indica) juice fermented with autochthonous Lactobacillus plantarum S-811

The present study aimed at investigating the lactic fermentation of cactus pear (Opuntia ficus-indica) fruit juice with the autochthonous and potentially probiotic strain Lactobacillus plantarum S-811. L. plantarum S-811 was able to quickly acidify the juice with a decrease in the pH from 5.5 to 3.7 and a production of 5.06 g l-1 of lactic acid. Fermentation of cactus pear juice led to conservation of its health-promoting properties and it markedly promoted antioxidant mechanisms in yeast cells, showing in a Saccharomyces cerevisiae model a protective effect of up to 11 times against H2O2 (4 mM), compared to yeasts not supplemented with the fermented juice. Administration of fermented juice to obese mice caused a significant decrease in the body weight gain and ameliorated the insulin resistance, hyperglycemia, and hyperlipemia that characterize obesity. These results reveal the potential of the cactus pear juice fermented with L. plantarum S-811 as a functional beverage for the prevention of obesity and related pathologies.