Starch slowly hydrolysed

Much of the resistant and slowly hydrolysed starch is fermented by bacteria in the colon, and a proportion of the products of bacterial metabolism, including short-chain fatty acids, may be absorbed and metabolized. As discussed in section 7.3.3.2, butyrate produced by bacterial fermentation of resistant starch and non-starch polysaccharides has an antiproliferative action against tumour cells in culture, and may provide protection against the development of colorectal cancer. 

Some 20 to 25 years ago there was a popular belief that plastics should be made degradable and a series of additives were developed to achieve this end. These substances included photodegradable chemicals, chemicals slowly attacked by light and heat, starches which are subjected to microbial attack, e.g. edible substances, and water hydrolysable substances. More recently it has become preferable to reuse, recycle or incinerate plastic so that energy can be either conserved or recovered. 

---