Wheat starch with peanut skin polyphenols and digestion
What it found
In lab tests, wheat starch combined with polyphenols from peanut skins broke down more slowly, and the polyphenols released during digestion blocked the enzyme that digests starch.
What they found
Animal and lab studies
Lower estimated glycaemic index
The estimated glycaemic index fell after complexation, with values of 79.9, 77.4 and 76.9 for wheat starch with red, white and black peanut skin polyphenols.
More ordered structure
The content of the short-range ordered structure increased. Total crystallinity also rose, in the order black peanut skin polyphenols (3.91 %) > red (3.45 %) > white (3.44 %).
Enzyme activity suppressed
Polyphenols released during digestion suppressed the activity of alpha-amylase, the enzyme that breaks down starch.
Key factor identified
Correlation and stepwise regression analyses showed that the enzyme-blocking activity of the released polyphenols was the key reason the wheat starch and polyphenol complexes resisted digestion.
What the authors conclude
“The correlation and stepwise regression analyses unveiled that enzyme inhibitory activity of released PPs was key to the indigestibility of WS-PPs complexes.”
Also in their conclusions
- They say this work provides new insights into the link between ordered structures, enzyme inhibitory activity and starch digestion resistance.
How it was done
The authors say it is unclear how polyphenols from peanut skins slow starch digestion, and which factor matters most for that resistance.
They formed complexes of wheat starch with polyphenols from red, white and black peanut skins. They then measured the estimated glycaemic index, the starch structure, and the enzyme-blocking activity of the polyphenols released during digestion.
What it can’t tell you
- We summarised it from the abstract only.
- These are lab tests, not studies in people. They cannot show how wheat starch with peanut skin polyphenols affects digestion or blood sugar in a person.
Who paid
- Conflicts
- Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.
- Authors work at
- Institute of Agro-Product Processing, PR China; Taizhou Institute of Agricultural Sciences, PR China
The paper
- Title
- Mechanistic insights into the digestion resistance of wheat starch upon complexation with peanut skin polyphenols
- Type
- Study
- Evidence
- Animals and lab studies
- Summarised from
- Abstract only
- Cite
- Xu L, Wang Z, Feng M, et al (2025). Mechanistic insights into the digestion resistance of wheat starch upon complexation with peanut skin polyphenols. Food chemistry. doi:10.1016/j.foodchem.2025.144468PubMed 40286721DOI
Summary written 26 Sep 2026. Check it against the paper before it changes what you eat. How we summarise papers · Report an error