Chemistry Reference
In-Depth Information
a food component is a dietary fiber. According to both definitions, scFOS would be
considered a component of fiber.
1. American Association of Cereal Chemists (AACC, 2001):
“Dietary fiber is the
edible parts of plants or analogous carbohydrates that are resistant to digestion and
absorption in the human small intestine with complete or partial fermentation in
the large intestine. Dietary fiber includes polysaccharides, oligosaccharides, lignin,
and associated plant substances. Dietary fibers promote beneficial physiological
effects including laxation, and/or blood cholesterol attenuation, and/or blood glu-
cose attenuation.” In the discussion of this definition, the authors referred to oligo-
saccharides with a DP between 3 and 10 and stated that they are “clearly included
in this definition.” scFOS would be classified as an analogous carbohydrate.
2. Food and Nutrition Board (FNB) of the U.S. Institute of Medicine of the
National Academy of Sciences (2005):
“Dietary fiber consists of nondigestible
carbohydrates and lignin that are intrinsic and intact in plants. Functional fiber
consists of isolated, nondigestible carbohydrates that have beneficial physiological
effects in humans.” In the discussion of this definition, the authors clearly state that
“fructans could be classified as functional fibers.” Indeed, the report specifically
describes fructo-oligosaccharides as DP 2 to 4.
The Food Chemical Codex (2006) has recognized scFOS with a separate published
monograph. The monograph differentiates and defines “fructo-oligosaccharides,
scFOS” produced from sucrose compared with that which is made from inulin.
2.1.4 Manufacturing Process for scFos
scFOS is manufactured by a bioenzymatic (or fermentation) process, using
sucrose from sugar beet or cane sugar as the starting raw material. There are sev-
eral key advantages of this process relative to extracting scFOS directly from plant
sources:
•
The composition and architecture of the scFOS chains are more consistent.
•
All chains are glucose terminated, which influences functionality (see later).
•
The process is more efficient than extracting directly from known plant sources.
For example, the fructans in banana are 100 percent DP < 5, but banana only con-
tains 1 percent fructans.
The process is considered natural, non-genetically modified, kosher, halal, and
allergen free.
The bioenzymatic process uses a β-fructofuranosidase enzyme from the fungus
Aspergillus niger
. This is a transfructosylating enzyme that links fructose from one
sucrose molecule to another, thereby sequentially building up the fructose backbone
of the scFOS chain. To increase yield, residual-free sucrose and glucose, as well as
the enzyme, are removed after the fermentation process by chromatographic separa-
tion (Kono, 1993).
