A study of 'starch blockers' in man using 13C-enriched starch as a tracer.

It is claimed that commercial preparations of an alpha-amylase inhibitor, taken in tablet form 10 min before a meal, will inhibit the digestion of up to 100 g starch in the following meal. This was tested by giving five obese women three meals each containing cornflour enriched with 13C after a tablet of 'Starchex' or 'Calorex' or a placebo, in randomized sequence. The response to the meal in the rate of evolution of 13CO2, the increase in plasma insulin and the increase in blood sugar did not differ with the type of tablet which preceded the meal. We conclude that these starch-blocker tablets do not affect starch digestion or absorption in vivo.