F. Guillon et M. Champ, Structural and physical properties of dietary fibres, and consequences of processing on human physiology, FOOD RES IN, 33(3-4), 2000, pp. 233-245
Dietary fibre encompasses very diverse macromolecules exhibiting a large va
riety of physico-chemical properties. They might be naturally present in th
e food (in cell walls of vegetables and fruits, for instance) or introduced
in the food to improve their nutritional properties (e.g. bran in bread pr
oducts) or their physical characteristics (e.g, gelling agents or improved
resistance to storage). The properties that are nutritionally relevant are
mainly the particle size and bulk volume, the surface area characteristics,
the hydration and rheological properties, and the adsorption or entrapment
of minerals and organic molecules. Amongst these properties, the viscosity
and ion exchange capacity are the main contributors to metabolic effects (
glucose and lipid metabolisms) whereas fermentation pattern, bulking effect
and particle size are strongly involved in effects on colonic function. Te
chnological treatments can modify the physico-chemical properties of the fi
bre. This can be further exploited to optimise both their techno-functional
and physiological properties. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights re
served.