Functional Properties of Dietary Fibre Isolated from Cucurbita moschata Duchesne ex Poiret Through Different Extraction Procedures.

GERSCHENSON, LÍA NOEMI; ROJAS, ANA MARÍA LUISA; DE ESCALADA PLA, MARINA F; FISSORE, ELIANA.

In series: "Recent Progress in Medicinal Plants" ; Volumen 24: Standardization of Herbal / Ayurvedic Formulation

STUDIUM PRESS LLC.

Lugar: Houston, Texas, USA.; Año: 2009; p. 359 - 370

Abstract The characterization of fibres of non traditional sources receives increasing attention due to the interest of scientists in evaluating their properties to contribute to human health as well as to add value to raw materials. Properties of fibres isolated through different techniques from Cucurbita moschata Duchesne ex Poiret were evaluated. In general, directly isolated fibre essentially constituted by total cell wall polysaccharides showed interesting hydrating properties, indicating that water was strongly absorbed by the fibre matrices, which may derive in a good behaviour as bulking agents for the intestinal content. Enzymatically isolated fractions, constituted by water soluble polysaccharides of the cell wall, showed thickening effect and pseudoplastic behaviour, which may contribute to delay gastric emptying and reduce absorption rates in the small intestine. In this sense, all fibre isolated fractions (soluble and insoluble) presented a delay in glucose absorption evaluated with "in vitro" techniques. Key words : Cucurbita moschata, Fibre, Pectin, Functional properties