Analysis of Digestible Carbohydrates in Different Varieties of Basmati Rice and Other Popular Cereal Samples by Using HPLC-RI

Analysis of digestible carbohydrate such as free sugars and starch are important components of foods like cereals. The objective of this study was to assess the digestible carbohydrates in different branded basmati rice and in other popular cereal samples of local markets of twin cities of Secunderabad and Hyderabad. In the study, we determined carbohydrates that are digestible in the human upper gastrointestinal tract by using enzymes that mimic the human system under laboratory conditions. After enzymatic hydrolysis, free sugars were extracted and determined by HPLC using refractive index detector. The chromatographic separation was achieved using Supelcosil-NH2 column using an isocratic elution with acetonitrile/water (80:20, v/v) at a flow rate of 1.0 ml/min. Among the Basmati rice varieties analyzed the total soluble sugars were in the range of 4.42% to 7.00% and other popular cereals are in the range of 14.41% to 36.80%. Soluble starches in basmati rice samples ranged from 10.89% to 17.06% and in other popular cereals from 6.89% to 9.54%. Insoluble starches in basmati rice were observed to be bracketed in between 55.97% to 61.73%, where as in other popular cereals from 28.59% to 44.47%. Concluding our observation, the total amount of starches and total sugars in basmati rice fell in between 73.14% to 80.47% and in other popular cereals from 64.47% to 76.12%.