Slowly digestible starch – its structure and health implications: a review

Starch is the main carbohydrate in human nutrition and offers a range of desired technological properties. The nutritional quality of starch strongly depends on starch structure and on its processing. Starch digestibility in the human small intestine can vary from a rapid digestion to indigestibility. However, the structural properties of the intermediate fraction of starch with slow digestibility and its potential health benefits are not well understood. The present review highlights current knowledge on starch structures causing a slow digestibility and explores their health implications.