Found in different foods, starch is the most important source of carbohydrates in the diet. Potentially digested by enzymes in the gastrointestinal tract, it is absorbed as glucose in the small intestine. Despite this fact, significant amount of starch may escape digestion, reaching the colon, where it is fermented by intestinal flora. This fraction, known as resistant starch, has been extensively studied for some years because of its potential beneficial effects on human health. Many methods are used to determine resistant starch. Nevertheless, none has received unanimous approval, since the existing ones have important differences in protocols and in obtained results. In this context, the present work aimed at providing subsidies to better understand the physico-chemical characteristics, metabolic and physiological properties as well as variations in the existing methodologies for resistant starch determination.
carbohydrates; starch; protocols; functional foods