Lack of effect of high temperature drying on digestibility of starch in spaghetti

The aim of this work was to study the influence of three different drying temperatures on starch digestibility in spaghetti. Completeness of starch digestion and glycaemic response to three types of spaghetti dried at 50, 80 and 90 ·C were evaluated using the breath H2 and the glycaemic index techniques in six healthy volunteers. Samples of spaghetti were analysed for starch susceptibility to α-amylolysis in vitro. No differences were found either in glycaemic response or degree of carbohydrate malabsorption among samples. In vitro results revealed a small but significant decrease in starch digestibility for the higher drying temperature. We conclude that even though heat treatment induced modification in starch digestibility, possibly by affecting starch availability to α-amylase, these differences did not seem to influence significantly the physiological processes of digestion in vivo.