Cereal Chem 39:123 - 131.  |  VIEW ARTICLE

The Digestibility of High-Amylose Corn Starches Compared to that of Other Starches. The Apparent Effect of the ae Gene on Susceptibility to Amylase Action.

R. M. Sandstedt, D. Strahan, S. Ueda, and R. C. Abbot. Copyright 1962 by the American Association of Cereal Chemists, Inc. 

There is much variation between the raw starches in their susceptibility to the action of pancreatic alpha- amylose. In general the resistance to digestion was not directly associated with amylose content. A 40%- amylose starch from corn was the most susceptible, quite similar to waxy corn starch with less than 5% amylose. Wrinkled-pea starch with 65% amylose was intermediate in digestibility, whereas a 61%-amylose corn starch was highly resistant but not as resistant as potato starch with 22% amylose. Among the high- amylose corn starches, those from corn homozygous for either the du or su2 gene, or both, were highly susceptible to digestion whereas those from corn homozygous for the ae gene alone or in combination with su2 or du were resistant to digestion. A high-amylose corn having a starch highly resistant to enzyme action proved to be highly resistant to digestion when fed to rats and chicks, confirming the in vitro laboratory digestions.