How the stomach can serve as a biochemical environment for starch digestion and the implications on starch emptying are not well-understood. Biochemical changes during gastric digestion of cooked wheat- and rice-based diets of varying particle size and microstructure were investigated using a growing pig model. In larger-particle size diets (rice grain, rice noodle, pasta), pH >3 was maintained in the proximal stomach digesta even until 240 min digestion, resulting in extended remaining amylase activity and accumulation of maltose from starch hydrolysis in the stomach. In smaller-particle size diets (couscous, rice couscous, semolina porridge), gastric acidification occurred faster to produce homogeneous intragastric pH and deactivated amylase. The hypothesis of the study was that food macrostructure would impact gastric acidification kinetics, and the resulting biochemical environment for starch hydrolysis in the stomach may further affect the mechanisms of food breakdown in the stomach and gastric emptying of starch.
Keywords: Amylase activity; Food structure; Gastric acidification; Gastric digestion; Starch hydrolysis.
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