ASSESSMENT OF BREADFRUIT (ARTOCARPUS ALTILIS, (PARKINSON) FOSBERG) CULTIVARS FOR RESISTANT STARCH, DIETARY FIBRE AND ENERGY DENSITY.

Breadfruit (Artocarpus altilis) is being promoted for increased consumption as a staple for food and nutrition security, improved livelihoods and environmental conservation, especially, in tropical regions such as the Pacific, Africa and the Caribbean where the species is well adapted. The fruit has a high starch content, however, further information is needed on nutritional properties that influence its energy density which could have implications for how it is consumed especially considering the high incidence of diet related non-communicable diseases. This study evaluated dietary fibre; total, resistant and non-resistant starch contents; total and available carbohydrate contents; and energy density of flour from 21 Caribbean and Pacific breadfruit cultivars. There were significant differences (p<0.05) among cultivars for all parameters measured. Depending on cultivar, the values ranged from 6.7 to 13.73 g/100 g for dietary fibre exclusive of resistant starch, from 28.16 to 50.53 g/100 g for resistant starch, from 14.87 to 34.93 g/100 g for non-resistant starch, from 63.68 to 82.57 g/100 g for total starch, from 83.54 to 93.64 g/100 g for total carbohydrate and from 25.37 to 40.61 g/100 g for available carbohydrate. Available carbohydrate content was approximately 36% of the total carbohydrate, indicating that although total carbohydrate content was high, most of it is not readily digested and absorbed in the small intestines. Based on low available carbohydrate content due to high dietary fibre content inclusive of resistant starch, the overall mean energy density was 158.14 ± 2.56 kcal/g and values ranged from 113.39 to 179.39 kcal/g, indicating that breadfruit flour can be classified as a low to medium energy density food depending on cultivar. These results showed the importance of screening to identify cultivars with unique nutritional properties related to resistant starch, dietary fibre and energy density. Additionally, the observed energy density values may support the promotion of breadfruit as a functional food with considerable potential for the dietary management of diet related non-communicable diseases such as obesity and type 2 diabetes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]