Cooked Rice-Based and Wheat-Based Food Structure Influenced Digestion Kinetics and Glycemic Response in Growing Pigs

Joanna Nadia; Alexander G Olenskyj; Natascha Stroebinger; Suzanne M Hodgkinson; Talia G Estevez; Parthasarathi Subramanian; Harjinder Singh; R Paul Singh; Gail M Bornhorst

doi:10.1016/j.tjnut.2023.03.009

Cooked Rice-Based and Wheat-Based Food Structure Influenced Digestion Kinetics and Glycemic Response in Growing Pigs

J Nutr. 2023 May;153(5):1373-1388. doi: 10.1016/j.tjnut.2023.03.009. Epub 2023 Mar 10.

Authors

Joanna Nadia¹, Alexander G Olenskyj², Natascha Stroebinger³, Suzanne M Hodgkinson³, Talia G Estevez², Parthasarathi Subramanian³, Harjinder Singh³, R Paul Singh⁴, Gail M Bornhorst⁵

Affiliations

¹ Riddet Institute, Massey University, Private Bag 11222, Palmerston North, New Zealand; School of Food and Advanced Technology, Massey University, Private Bag 11222, Palmerston North, New Zealand.
² Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering, University of California, Davis, CA 95618, USA.
³ Riddet Institute, Massey University, Private Bag 11222, Palmerston North, New Zealand.
⁴ Riddet Institute, Massey University, Private Bag 11222, Palmerston North, New Zealand; Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering, University of California, Davis, CA 95618, USA.
⁵ Riddet Institute, Massey University, Private Bag 11222, Palmerston North, New Zealand; Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering, University of California, Davis, CA 95618, USA. Electronic address: gbornhorst@ucdavis.edu.

PMID: 36906148
DOI: 10.1016/j.tjnut.2023.03.009

Abstract

Background: How starch-based food structure can affect the rate and extent of digestion in the small intestine and resulting glycemic response is not properly understood. One possible explanation is that food structure influences gastric digestion, which subsequently determines digestion kinetics in the small intestine and glucose absorption. However, this possibility has not been investigated in detail.

Objectives: Using growing pigs as a digestion model for adult humans, this study aimed to investigate how physical structure of starch-rich foods affects small intestinal digestion and glycemic response.

Methods: Male growing pigs (21.7 ± 1.8 kg, Large White × Landrace) were fed one of the 6 cooked diets (250-g starch equivalent) with varying initial structures (rice grain, semolina porridge, wheat or rice couscous, or wheat or rice noodle). The glycemic response, small intestinal content particle size and hydrolyzed starch content, ileal starch digestibility, and portal vein plasma glucose were measured. Glycemic response was measured as plasma glucose concentration collected from an in-dwelling jugular vein catheter for up to 390 min postprandial. Portal vein blood samples and small intestinal content were measured after sedation and euthanasia of the pigs at 30, 60, 120, or 240 min postprandial. Data were analyzed with a mixed-model ANOVA.

Results: The plasma glucose Δmax_overall and iAUC_overall for couscous and porridge diets (smaller-sized diets) were higher than that of intact grain and noodle diets (larger-sized diets): 29.0 ± 3.2 compared with 21.7 ± 2.6 mg/dL and 5659 ± 727 compared with 2704 ± 521 mg/dL⋅min, for the smaller-sized and larger-sized diets, respectively (P < 0.05). Ileal starch digestibility was not significantly different between the diets (P ≥ 0.05). The iAUC_overall was inversely related to the starch gastric emptying half-time of the diets (r = -0.90, P = 0.015).

Conclusions: Starch-based food structure affected the glycemic response and starch digestion kinetics in the small intestine of growing pigs.

Keywords: digestion kinetics; food structure; gastric emptying rate; glycemic response; growing pigs; small intestinal digestion; starch-based foods.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Adult
Animals
Blood Glucose* / analysis
Digestion / physiology
Edible Grain / chemistry
Humans
Male
Oryza* / chemistry
Starch / chemistry
Swine
Triticum

Substances

Blood Glucose
Starch