The effect of chemically-modified resistant starch, RS type-4, on body weight and blood lipid profiles of high fat diet-induced obese mice

This study was conducted to investigate the effects of feeding chemically-modified resistant starch type-4 (RS4) of normal (NCS) and high-amylose corn starch (HACS) on weight gain and plasma and liver lipid profiles of mice fed a high-fat diet (HFD). The experimental four groups were, respectively, fed following diets: A 40% HFD with NCS, HACS, NCS- and HACS-RS4. A normal diet (ND) group of mice fed the standard diet was also used as control. In order to produce RS4 by chemical modification, corn starches were treated with STMP/STPP. Total RS (TRS) and total dietary fiber (TDF) levels of chemically-modified NCS were 26.4 and 44.0%, respectively, while TRS and TDF levels in chemically-modified HACS were 78.1 and 78.5%, respectively. Onset gelatinization temperatures of both modified corn starches clearly shifted to higher temperatures after STMP/STPP treatment. At the end of the diet trial, the mice on the HACS diet decreased body weight gain compared to the NCS-fed mice. Adding NCS- and HACS-RS4 to the diet significantly reduced the weight gain relative to NCS and HACS groups. Both RS4 diets were effective in improving the lipid profile compared to their respective controls. They significantly reduced the level of total lipid and total cholesterol.