Effects of sugarcane, palm sugar, coconut sugar and sorbitol on starch digestibility and physicochemical properties of wheat based foods

Wheat flours mixed with four types of sweeteners; sugarcane, palm sugar, coconut sugar and sorbitol were evaluated for their in vitro starch digestibility, estimated glycemic index (GI) and physicochemical properties. It was found that sorbitol which is a sugar alcohol gave the best starch digestibility results providing the lowest estimated GI values. Palm and coconut sugars provided better starch digestion rate and lower estimated GI values than those of sugarcane, indicating their nutritional quality over the sugarcane. All the studied sweeteners influenced the physicochemical properties of wheat flour and sweetener mixtures as examined by the DSC, RVA and texture analyzer. The addition of sweeteners increased gelatinization temperatures, decreased viscosities and altered the gel textures. The studied sweeteners were used as an ingredient to produce the breads. The appearances of the products were similar but physicochemical properties and estimated GI values were varied according to the sweeteners used. The use of palm and coconut sugars in breads provided lower GI values than those of sugarcane.