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Colonic fermentation of potato starch after a freeze-thaw cycle

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Abstract

To estimate colonic carbohydrate fermentation following a potato meal, 13 healthy volunteers consumed 375 g potatoes containing 60 g starch on three different occasions in random order: (A) potatoes boiled and consumed fresh at 60° C; (B) potatoes boiled, frozen, thawed and consumed at 20° C; and (C) potatoes boiled, frozen, thawed, reheated to 90° C, and consumed at 60° C. End-expiratory breath hydrogen (H2) was measured every 15 min for 10–14 hr with a selective electrochemical cell. The extent of colonic carbohydrate fermentation (AUC=area under the breath H2 concentration vs time curve) in experiment B was significantly higher (+186%,P<0.002) than in experiment A. The breath hydrogen AUC in experiment C was higher than in experiment A (+48%,P<0.04) but lower than in experiment B (−94%,P<0.003). It is suggested that structural alterations of the starch molecule occur during freezing, thawing, and reheating and alter the availability of carbohydrates for fermentation by colonic anaerobes.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Medicine, University of Wuerzburg, Josef-Schneider-Strasse 2, D-8700, Wuerzburg, Germany

    Wolfgang Scheppach MD, Matthias Bach, Peter Bartram MD, Stefan Christl MD,  Wolfgang Bergthaller PhD & Heinrich Kasper MD

  2. Federal Research Center for Cereal and Potato Processing, Detmold, Germany

    Wolfgang Scheppach MD, Matthias Bach, Peter Bartram MD, Stefan Christl MD,  Wolfgang Bergthaller PhD & Heinrich Kasper MD

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  1. Wolfgang Scheppach MD
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  2. Matthias Bach
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  3. Peter Bartram MD
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  4. Stefan Christl MD
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  5. Wolfgang Bergthaller PhD
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  6. Heinrich Kasper MD
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Scheppach, W., Bach, M., Bartram, P. et al. Colonic fermentation of potato starch after a freeze-thaw cycle. Digest Dis Sci 36, 1601–1605 (1991). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01296404

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01296404

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