J Nutr Sci Vitaminol, 48, 47-50, 2002

Nutritional Properties of Starch in Buckwheat Noodles

Ivan KREFT* and Vida SKRABANJA

Biotechnical Faculty, Universityof Ljubljana,Jamnikarjeva 101,

SI-1111 Ljubljana,Slovenia
(Received August 27,2001)

Summary Buckwheat noodles were studied to identify the possibility of reduced starch
hydrolysis rate and glucose release after the ingestion of buckwheat meals, in comparison to
the wheat-based meals. The rate of starch hydrolysis and the resistant starch (RS) formation
in boiled buckwheat noodles (BWN), boiled wheat noodles (WN), boiled buckwheat groats
(BWG), and white wheat bread (WB) were evaluated in vitro. The highest content of RS
(total starch basis) was found in boiled BWG (6%), compared with the BWN (3.4%), WN
(2.1%), and WB (0.8%). The rate of in vitro amylolysis was significantly reduced (p<0.05)
in both studied buckwheat products in comparison to the reference WB. The calculated hy
drolysis index (HI) was lower in BWN (61) in comparison to WN (71), but higher in com
parison to boiled BWG (50). It is confirmed that BWN have some potential in diets designed
in accordance with the dietary recommendations for diabetic patients and for healthy sub
iects.
Key Words buckwheat, starch hydrolysis, groats, flour, noodles

In some parts of the world, buckwheat (Fagopyrum es
culentum Moench; BW) is an important constituent of
the diet and thus abundantly contributes dietary carbo
hydrates in different forms. Buckwheat noodles (BWN)
are consumed popularly in Japan and traditionally in
some rural areas of China (especially in Shanxi and
Shaanxi Provinces), in Bhutan, and in the regions of
the southern slopes of the European Alps, namely,
Slovenia, Italy, Switzerland, and France (1-3).
Buckwheat groats (BWG) can be used in a way similar
to how rice is used. Groats appear as a traditional food
in some mountainous areas of Japan (for example,
Shikoku island), and in Slovenia, Croatia, Poland,
Ukraine, and Russia (2). A low hydrolysis index and flat
tened metabolic responses after an ingestion of a BWG
meal have been recently confirmed (4).
It is of great interest to improve diabetic control by al
tering the properties of carbohydrates ingested. A possi
bility for ranking foods with respect to their potential to
raise the blood glucose, in comparison to the reference
product [glucose or white wheat bread (WB)], i.e., the
glycemic index (GI) concept (5), is available. The meta
bolic advantages of low-GI diets in a long-term perspec
tive are widely supported (6). It has also been reported
that a low-GI meal may cause an improved glucose tol
erance after the next meal (7, 8). The so-called second
meal effect could thus appear even during a single day.
The slow digestion of food starch has also been con
nected with prolonged endurance time at strenuous ex
ercise (9) and with prolonged satiety after ingested
meals (10). Moreover, a preventive potential against the
development of maturity onset diabetes (11, 12) and
cardiovascular disease (13, 14) has been connected
* To whom correspondence should be addressed . Buckwheat
with the slow digestion and absorption of food carbohy
drates.
The starch resistant to amylolytic enzymes also takes
part in lowering the postprandial responses of blood
glucose. A restricted availability of resistant starch (RS)
in foods has been associated with the physical entrap
ment of starch within structures of grains or food (RS1),
native, ungelatinized starch granules (RS2), and starch
retrogradation upon the hydrothermal treatment of
food (RS3) (15). There is evidence that the substances
formed during the fermentation of RS, contribute to the
maintenance of colon health and also express beneficial
influences on glucose metabolism (6). So foods with
higher amounts of RS could be considered as beneficial.
The mechanical characteristics of BWN were re
cently studied by Ikeda and Asami (3). Very few studies
are available regarding the nutritional features of BW
starch (4, 15, 16), and no studies were performed on
the nutritional characteristics of starch in BWN. The
purpose of the present study was to investigate the nu
tritional properties of starch in BWN in comparison to
BWG, wheat noodles (WN), and WB. The rate of starch
hydrolysis and the RS formation were analyzed in vitro
in boiled BWG, in BWN and WN, and in WB.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Samples. Commercial samples of dry BWN [made of
100% BW flour (BWF)] and dry WN were purchased in
Japan. Whole dehusked BW grains were purchased as a
commercial sample in Slovenia. According to the tradi
tional process, BW grains were dehusked after hy
drothermal pretreatment and dried to 13.15% moisture
level. White wheat flour was purchased at the Swedish
local market (Kungsornen. Jarna, Sweden).
and wheat noodles. Dried BWN and WN

47
 48 KREFTI and SKRABANJA
V

(about 90 and 80g, respectively) were boiled (1L of Table 1. Total starch, potentially available starch, and
water; lg salt) for 6 and 10min, respectively, according RS contents in wheat and buckwheat products.

to the manufacturer's instructions. Before analysis, the

noodles were drained and cooled (15min). Their starch
content was corrected for the amount of starch lost in
water.
White wheat reference bread. We used 450g white
wheat flour, 300g water, 4g salt, 4g dry yeast, and
10g monoglycerides to make the reference product in a
baking machine. The cooled bread was sliced, the crusts
removed, and the slices frozen. Before analysis, the
slices were thawed at room temperature.
1 Values are means of two parallel determinations
Chemical analysis of the test products. Prior to analy .
2 Values are means•}SE; n=6
sis of portions of the WB, the boiled BWG and boiled .
a Means not sharing the same letter in the columns are
noodles were air-dried and milled in a Cyclotec mill
significantly different (p<0.05).
(Tecator, Sweden) to a particle size <0.8mm. The total
starch in the raw materials and in the breads was deter
mined enzymatically following solubilization in alkali Total starch, RS, and potentially available starch
by a method described by Tovar et al. (17); before the al The total starch, potentially available starch, and RS
kali treatment (4mol/L KOH), however, the samples contents in different BW and wheat products are re
were soaked in a phosphate buffer (0.1mot/L; pH 6.0). ported in Table 1. The results for total starch, expressed
Because the alkali treatment was omitted (18), starch as a sum of potentially available starch and resistant
corrected for retrograded amylose [used for hydrolysis starch contents, were well in accordance with the one
index (HI) standardization] in the milled material was -step starch analysis described by Tovar et al. (17).
also determined. The in vitro digestibility of starch in BWN and BWG
Potentially available starch and RS. To mimic the was higher than 90%, total starch basis. A difference in
physiological conditions, the in vitro analysis of poten the RS content between BWN and WN was found to be
tially available starch and RS were performed by paral statistically significant (p<0.05). However, the highest
lel determination on wheat bread sample, boiled BWG, proportion of RS (p<0.05) was found in boiled BWG
and noodles without prior mechanical disintegration, [6.0% (total starch basis)]. This is in agreement with
i.e., in the "as eaten" form according to Akerberg et al. previous in vivo studies (4, 16). It was reported that 4.9
(19). After completed incubation, RS and nonstarch to 6.4% starch of hydrothermally treated and milled
polysaccharides were precipitated with 95 % ethanol BWG passed undigested to the rat hindgut.
(v/v) and filtrated through P2 crucibles. In the filtrates, The RS content of WN significantly differed from WB.
the glucose was measured at 450nm with glucose oxi The same appeared when comparing the current RS
dase-peroxidase reagent and expressed as potentially data for BWN and that reported for BW flour-based
available starch. The RS, comprising RS1+RS2+RS3, breads (4). The higher proportion of RS1, which is likely
was determined as total starch in dried (105•Ž over to be present in pasta products, mostly contributes to
night) and milled residues. differences when comparing RS contents with flour
In vitro rate of starch hydrolysis and HI. The rate of - based breads. Thus again the importance of food struc
starch hydrolysis in the wheat bread sample, boiled ture for the starch accessibility is confirmed.
BWG, and noodles was followed by a dialysis procedure It is hypothesized, that differences between BWN and
(20). The HIs were calculated as the ratio between the WN could be based in various technologies of noodle
area under the hydrolysis curve (0-180min) for each preparation and/or the result of molecular level. Name
product and the corresponding area obtained after hy ly, buckwheat proteins can form a more-compact ma
drolysis of the reference WB, expressed in percentage. trix around starch granules. When this happens, the
Statistical analysis. The results are expressed as denaturation of proteins during thermal treatment pre
means•}SE. The potentially available starch, RS, and vents the swelling of starch granules and consequently
the in vitro rate of starch hydrolysis were statistically enhances the resistance of starch to enzymatic attack.
evaluated by one-way ANOVA with the SPSS/PC+pro In vitro rate of starch hydrolysis
gram (SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL, USA). Comparisons be The percentage of starch hydrolyzed at various time
tween the means were performed by Duncan's test. A points is shown in Fig. 1. The starch in boiled BWG was
value of p<0.05 was considered significant. hydrolyzed at the slowest rate. In BWN the rate of
starch hydrolysis was significantly (p<0.05) reduced in
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION comparison to WB at each time point. Both BW prod
The nutritional features of BW starch were expected ucts had a significantly (p<0.05) lower HI (50.4 for
to be comparable with those of true cereal-based prod boiled BWG and 61.3 for BWN, respectively) than the
ucts, especially because native BW starch has a charac WB (HI=100) (Fig. 2). It appeared that starch in boiled
teristic A-type of crystallinity (21), otherwise typical for BWN was hydrolyzed at a slower rate than that of WN,
cereal starches. but the difference was not statistically significant.
 Nutritional Properties of Starch in Buckwheat
Fig. 1. The percentage of starch hydrolyzed at various
time points in white wheat bread (WB), wheat noodles
(WN), buckwheat noodles (BWN), and buckwheat
groats (BWG).Bars show the standard error of means.
Fig. 2. Starch hydrolysis index of white wheat bread
(WB), wheat noodles (WN), buckwheat noodles
(BWN), and buckwheat groats (BWG). Bars show the
standard error of means.
Accordingly, HI of WN (70.6) did not differ from HI of
BWN. Previously, it was shown (4) that the replacement
of 30% wheat flour in bread with BWF surprisingly re
duced the HI. This finding suggests that starch in buck
wheat products may behave differently from starch in
other flour-based cereal products; it might be that BW
itself contains one or more components that could in
hibit the amylolytic degradation of BW starch. Ikeda et
al. (22) studied the inhibitory activity of BWF extract
on amylases from different sources. However, the au
thors hypothesized that the inhibitory substance might
be of protein origin. Thus it is expected that during the
boiling of BWN and BWG, this inhibitory potential
might be reduced. Therefore in our case more stable in
hibitory substances, such as tannins and phytic acid,
might inhibit starch degradation. BW is an especially
abundant source of tannins (2.5%) and phytic acid
(0.2-0.7%, dmb; unpublished results), which may po
tentially contribute to the reduced in vitro rate of starch
hydrolysis (23-29).
The calculated HI of bread with the same proportion
of wheat flour and whole BWG was 71 as published by
Skrabanja et al. (4). The corresponding glycemic and
insulinemic indices were 66 and 74, respectively. From
the present study, it is assumed that HI in BWN
(HI=61) was low and might predict lower metabolic re
Noodles 49
spouses in vivo. However, there are still technological
difficulties in producing pure (100%) BW pasta.
The present study confirms that BW has a potential
use in foods designed with a modified course of starch
digestion. BWN or boiled BWG may influence the me
tabolism beneficially in comparison to the WB. Among
products studied, boiled BWG, followed by BWN, are
therefore most in accordance with current dietary rec
ommendations for diabetic patients and for healthy sub
jects.
Acknowledgments
This research was financially supported by the
Ministry of Education, Science and Sports of Slovenia.
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