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Roughage
Dietary fiber (fibre in Commonwealth English) or roughage is the portion of plant-derived food that cannot be completely broken down by human digestive enzymes. Dietary fibers are diverse in chemical composition and can be grouped generally by their solubility, viscosity and fermentability which affect how fibers are processed in the body. Dietary fiber has two main subtypes: soluble fiber and insoluble fiber which are components of plant-based foods such as legumes, whole grains, cereals, vegetables, fruits, and nuts or seeds. A diet high in regular fiber consumption is generally associated with supporting health and lowering the risk of several diseases. Dietary fiber consists of non-starch polysaccharides and other plant components such as cellulose, resistant starch, resistant dextrins, inulins, lignins, chitins, pectins, beta-glucans, and oligosaccharides. Food sources of dietary fiber have traditionally been divided according to whether they provide soluble or insolubl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cellulose
Cellulose is an organic compound with the chemical formula, formula , a polysaccharide consisting of a linear chain of several hundred to many thousands of glycosidic bond, β(1→4) linked glucose, D-glucose units. Cellulose is an important structural component of the primary cell wall of green plants, many forms of algae and the oomycetes. Some species of bacteria secrete it to form biofilms. Cellulose is the most abundant biopolymer, organic polymer on Earth. The cellulose content of cotton fibre is 90%, that of wood is 40–50%, and that of dried hemp is approximately 57%. Cellulose is mainly used to produce paperboard and paper. Smaller quantities are converted into a wide variety of derivative products such as cellophane and rayon. Conversion of cellulose from energy crops into biofuels such as cellulosic ethanol is under development as a renewable fuel source. Cellulose for industrial use is mainly obtained from wood pulp and cotton. Cellulose is also greatly affected by ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Large Intestine
The large intestine, also known as the large bowel, is the last part of the gastrointestinal tract and of the Digestion, digestive system in tetrapods. Water is absorbed here and the remaining waste material is stored in the rectum as feces before being removed by defecation. The Colon (anatomy), colon (progressing from the ascending colon to the transverse colon, transverse, the descending colon, descending and finally the sigmoid colon) is the longest portion of the large intestine, and the terms "large intestine" and "colon" are often used interchangeably, but most sources define the large intestine as the combination of the cecum, colon, rectum, and anal canal. Some other sources exclude the anal canal. In humans, the large intestine begins in the right iliac region of the pelvis, just at or below the waist, where it is joined to the end of the small intestine at the cecum, via the ileocecal valve. It then continues as the colon ascending colon, ascending the abdomen, across t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gut Microbiota
Gut microbiota, gut microbiome, or gut flora are the microorganisms, including bacteria, archaea, fungi, and viruses, that live in the digestive tracts of animals. The gastrointestinal metagenome is the aggregate of all the genomes of the gut microbiota. The gut is the main location of the human microbiome. The gut microbiota has broad impacts, including effects on colonization, resistance to pathogens, maintaining the intestinal epithelium, metabolizing dietary and pharmaceutical compounds, controlling immune function, and even behavior through the gut–brain axis. The microbial composition of the gut microbiota varies across regions of the digestive tract. The colon contains the highest microbial density of any human-associated microbial community studied so far, representing between 300 and 1000 different species. Bacteria are the largest and to date, best studied component and 99% of gut bacteria come from about 30 or 40 species. About 55% of the dry mass of feces ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Xanthan Gum
Xanthan gum () is a polysaccharide with many industrial uses, including as a common food additive. It is an effective thickening agent and stabilizer that prevents ingredients from separating. It can be produced from simple sugars by fermentation and derives its name from the species of bacteria used, '' Xanthomonas campestris''. History Xanthan gum was discovered by Allene Rosalind Jeanes and her research team at the United States Department of Agriculture and brought into commercial production by CP Kelco in the early 1960s under the trade name Kelzan, remaining the only manufacturer in the US. It was approved for use in foods in 1968 and is accepted as a safe food additive in the US, Canada, European countries, and many other countries, with E number E415 and CAS number 11138-66-2. Xanthan gum derives its name from the species of bacteria used during the fermentation process, '' Xanthomonas campestris''. Uses The addition of 1% xanthan gum can produce a significant incr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Psyllium
Psyllium (), or ispaghula (), is the common name used for several members of the plant genus ''Plantago'' whose seeds are used commercially for the production of mucilage. Psyllium is mainly used as a dietary fiber to relieve symptoms of both constipation and mild diarrhea, and occasionally as a food thickener. Allergy to psyllium is common in workers frequently exposed to the substance. It is generally safe and moderately effective as a laxative. Use of psyllium in the diet for three weeks or longer may lower Blood lipids, blood cholesterol levels in people with elevated cholesterol, and may lower blood glucose levels in people with type 2 diabetes. Use of psyllium for a month or longer may produce a small reduction in systolic blood pressure. The plants from which the seeds are extracted tolerate damp and cool climates, and are mainly cultivated in northern India. Uses Preparation Psyllium is produced mainly for its mucilage content. The term ''mucilage'' describes a group ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hemicellulose
A hemicellulose (also known as polyose) is one of a number of heteropolymers (matrix polysaccharides), such as arabinoxylans, present along with cellulose in almost all embryophyte, terrestrial plant cell walls. Cellulose is crystalline, strong, and resistant to hydrolysis. Hemicelluloses are branched, shorter in length than cellulose, and also show a propensity to crystallize. They can be hydrolyzed by dilute acid or Base (chemistry), base as well as a myriad of Cellulase, hemicellulase enzymes. Composition Diverse kinds of hemicelluloses are known. Important examples include xylan, glucuronoxylan, arabinoxylan, glucomannan, and xyloglucan. Hemicelluloses are polysaccharides often associated with cellulose, but with distinct compositions and structures. Whereas cellulose is derived exclusively from glucose, hemicelluloses are composed of diverse sugars, and can include the five-carbon sugars xylose and arabinose, the six-carbon sugars glucose, mannose and galactose, and the si ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Oligosaccharide
An oligosaccharide (; ) is a carbohydrate, saccharide polymer containing a small number (typically three to ten) of monosaccharides (simple sugars). Oligosaccharides can have many functions including Cell–cell recognition, cell recognition and cell adhesion. They are normally present as glycans: oligosaccharide chains are linked to lipids or to compatible amino acid side chains in proteins, by ''N''- or ''O''-glycoside, glycosidic bonds. ''N''-Linked oligosaccharides are always pentasaccharides attached to asparagine via a beta linkage to the amine nitrogen of the side chain.. Alternately, O-linked glycosylation, ''O''-linked oligosaccharides are generally attached to threonine or serine on the alcohol group of the side chain. Not all natural oligosaccharides occur as components of glycoproteins or glycolipids. Some, such as the raffinose series, occur as storage or transport carbohydrates in plants. Others, such as maltodextrins or cellodextrins, result from the microbial break ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Beta-glucan
Beta-glucans, β-glucans comprise a group of β-D-glucose polysaccharides ( glucans) naturally occurring in the cell walls of cereals, bacteria, and fungi, with significantly differing physicochemical properties dependent on source. Typically, β-glucans form a linear backbone with 1–3 β- glycosidic bonds but vary with respect to molecular mass, solubility, viscosity, branching structure, and gelation properties, causing diverse physiological effects in animals. At dietary intake levels of at least 3 g per day, oat fiber β-glucan decreases blood levels of LDL cholesterol and so may reduce the risk of cardiovascular diseases. β-glucans are natural gums and are used as texturing agents in various nutraceutical and cosmetic products, and as soluble fiber supplements. History Cereal and fungal products have been used for centuries for medicinal and cosmetic purposes; however, the specific role of β-glucan was not explored until the 20th century. β-glucans were first ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pectin
Pectin ( ': "congealed" and "curdled") is a heteropolysaccharide, a structural polymer contained in the primary lamella, in the middle lamella, and in the cell walls of terrestrial plants. The principal chemical component of pectin is galacturonic acid (a sugar acid derived from galactose) which was isolated and described by Henri Braconnot in 1825. Commercially produced pectin is a white-to-light-brown powder, produced from citrus fruits for use as an edible gelling agent, especially in jams and jellies, dessert fillings, medications, and sweets; as a food stabiliser in fruit juices and milk drinks, and as a source of dietary fiber. Biology Pectin is composed of complex polysaccharides that are present in the primary cell walls of a plant, and are abundant in the green parts of terrestrial plants. Pectin is the principal component of the middle lamella, where it binds cells. Pectin is deposited by exocytosis into the cell wall via vesicles produced in the Golgi appara ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chitin
Chitin (carbon, C8hydrogen, H13oxygen, O5nitrogen, N)n ( ) is a long-chain polymer of N-Acetylglucosamine, ''N''-acetylglucosamine, an amide derivative of glucose. Chitin is the second most abundant polysaccharide in nature (behind only cellulose); an estimated 1 billion tons of chitin are produced each year in the biosphere. It is a primary component of cell walls in fungi (especially filamentous and mushroom-forming fungi), the exoskeletons of arthropods such as crustaceans and insects, the radulae, cephalopod beaks and Gladius (cephalopod), gladii of molluscs and in some nematodes and diatoms. It is also synthesised by at least some fish and lissamphibians. Commercially, chitin is extracted from the shells of crabs, shrimps, shellfish and lobsters, which are major by-products of the seafood industry. The structure of chitin is comparable to cellulose, forming crystalline nanofibrils or whiskers. It is functionally comparable to the protein keratin. Chitin has proved useful ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lignin
Lignin is a class of complex organic polymers that form key structural materials in the support tissues of most plants. Lignins are particularly important in the formation of cell walls, especially in wood and bark, because they lend rigidity and do not rot easily. Chemically, lignins are polymers made by cross-linking phenolic precursors. History Lignin was first mentioned in 1813 by the Swiss botanist A. P. de Candolle, who described it as a fibrous, tasteless material, insoluble in water and alcohol but soluble in weak alkaline solutions, and which can be precipitated from solution using acid. He named the substance "lignine", which is derived from the Latin word '' lignum'', meaning wood. It is one of the most abundant organic polymers on Earth, exceeded only by cellulose and chitin. Lignin constitutes 30% of terrestrial non-fossil organic carbon on Earth, and 20 to 35% of the dry mass of wood. Lignin is present in red algae, which suggest that the common ancestor ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
