Investigation of Rice Starch Molecular Structure to Slow Starch Digestion Rate and Lower Glycemic Response

The overall goal of this project was to create a basis of knowledge on factors in rice that can be altered to moderate starch digestion rate and lower rice glycemic index (GI), as well as to identify existing US rice genotypes with relatively low GI. To achieve this, studies were designed to investigate the relationship between amylopectin structure, its branching characteristics, and starch digestion rate to understand how different starch structures can affect GI. Our aim was to: 1) identify rice genotypes that have comparably low starch digestion profiles and can be recommended for use to consumers and processors as low GI rices, and 2) provide information on starch structures that have a reduced digestion rate that can be exploited by rice breeders, geneticists, and molecular biologists.