Chapter 3. Carbohydrates (Second Edition)

GERSCHENSON L.N.; ROJAS A.M.; FISSORE E.N.

Nutraceutical and Functional Food Components - Effects of Innovative Processing Techniques - Second Edition

Elsevier

Lugar: London; Año: 2022; p. 49 - 126

Dietary carbohydrates constitute a group of chemically defined substances with a range of physicaland physiological properties and health benefits. As with other macronutrients, the primary classificationof dietary carbohydrates is based on chemistry, that is, in the character of individual monomers,degree of polymerization (DP), and type of linkage (α or β) (Cummings & Stephen, 2007).In general, carbohydrate chains with a number of carbon atoms up to nine are water soluble andinclude monosaccharides (D-glucose, D-fructose, D-galactose, L-xylose, D-mannose, L-arabinose),disaccharides (sucrose, lactose), and oligosaccharides such as those derived from β-glucans, mannanoligosaccharides (MOS), galactooligosaccharides (GOS), oligofructans, xylan oligosaccharides(XOS), dextrins, and short pectins.Carbohydrate polymers with 10 or more monomeric units, which are not hydrolyzed by theendogenous enzymes in the small intestine of humans, are considered as dietary fiber compounds(Philips & Cui, 2011).In this chapter, the effect on carbohydrate properties of the use of conventional and innovativetechnologies for their extraction and modification and for food preservation is discussed, with specialreference to carbohydrates having a carbon chain length up to nine carbon atoms and to inulinand starch.