Physicochemical Properties of the Soluble Dietary Fiber from Laminaria japonica and Its Role in the Regulation of Type 2 Diabetes Mice

Laminaria japonica is a large marine brown alga that is annually highly productive. However, due to its underutilization, its potential value is substantially wasted. For example, a lot of Laminaria japonica cellulose remains unused during production of algin. The soluble dietary fiber (SDF) was prepared from the byproducts of Laminaria japonica, and its physicochemical properties were explored. SDF exhibits good water-holding, oil-holding, water-absorbing swelling, glucose and cholesterol absorption capacity, and inhibitory activity of α-amylase and α-glucosidase. In addition, the beneficial effects of SDF in diabetic mice include reduced body weight, lower blood glucose, and relieved insulin resistance. Finally, the intestinal flora and metabolomic products were analyzed from feces using 16S amplicon and LC-MS/MS, respectively. SDF not only significantly changed the composition and structure of intestinal flora and intestinal metabolites, but also significantly increased the abundance of beneficial bacteria Akkermansia, Odoribacter and Bacteroides, decreased the abundance of harmful bacteria Staphylococcus, and increased the content of bioactive substances in intestinal tract, such as harmine, magnolol, arachidonic acid, prostaglandin E2, urimorelin and azelaic acid. Taken together, these findings suggest that dietary intake of SDF alleviates type 2 diabetes mellitus disease, and provides an important theoretical basis for SDF to be used as a functional food.

Beverages and Desserts With Therapeutic and Prophylactic Properties Based on Alginate-Containing Biogel From Laminaria -- ``Vitalgar Cardio''

In this research, recipes were developed for beverages and desserts based on ”Vitalgar Cardio”, abiogelthat contains alginate, has therapeutic and prophylactic properties, and was produced from laminaria at the SPC ”Vita-Li” LLC. ”Vitalgar Cardio”, in its liquid form, as well as desserts based on it, is a source of soluble dietary fiber (alginates) and chemical elements such as potassium, magnesium and iodine, and is an adsorbent of various toxins, including radionuclides and heavy metals. The developed products have traditional appeal, with a focus on healthy nutrition, which is currently being promoted among the population. Keywords: Lamibaria, Alginate, Fucoidan

Effects of cellulolytic treatment conditions on dietary fiber content of grape pomace and use of enzyme-treated pomace in cookie making

Grape pomace is a rich source of dietary fibers and phenolic compounds; it has been added to bakery products to enhance their dietary fiber content and antioxidant activity. Nevertheless, the Insoluble Dietary Fiber (IDF) content of grape pomace is significantly higher than the Soluble Dietary Fiber (SDF) content, the IDF/SDF ratio of bakery products was much higher than the recommended value of 3:1 from the dietetic associations. In this research, grape pomace was treated with cellulase preparation to partially convert IDF to SDF. The appropriate conditions of the cellulolytic treatment were as follows: initial moisture content of grape pomace of 7.5 g water/g dry basis, cellulase concentration of 6 U/g dry basis and treatment time of 1 h. Under these conditions, the SDF content increased by 20% and the IDF/SDF ratio decreased by 23.2%. Then, the enzyme-treated grape pomace (ETGP) and untreated grape pomace (UGPM) were separately mixed with wheat flour for cookie formulation; the grape pomace ratio was 20% of the composite flour weight. The use of ETGP or UTGP significantly improved the content of total, insoluble and soluble dietary fiber, total phenolics, anthocyanin of cookies as well as their antioxidant activity measured by DPPH and FRAP assays. Cookies supplemented with ETGP or UTGP had increased hardness and reduced brightness. The enzymatic treatment of grape pomace did not affect the total dietary fiber and antioxidant activity of cookies; however, their IDF/SDF ratio decreased to 12% and the value of 3.7 was close to the recommended ratio from the dietetic associations. Furthermore, the preference scores of ETGP added cookies and UTGP added cookies were higher than that of the control cookies without grape pomace addition.

Soluble Dietary Fiber, One of the Most Important Nutrients for the Gut Microbiota

Dietary fiber is a widely recognized nutrient for human health. Previous studies proved that dietary fiber has significant implications for gastrointestinal health by regulating the gut microbiota. Moreover, mechanistic research showed that the physiological functions of different dietary fibers depend to a great extent on their physicochemical characteristics, one of which is solubility. Compared with insoluble dietary fiber, soluble dietary fiber can be easily accessed and metabolized by fiber-degrading microorganisms in the intestine and produce a series of beneficial and functional metabolites. In this review, we outlined the structures, characteristics, and physiological functions of soluble dietary fibers as important nutrients. We particularly focused on the effects of soluble dietary fiber on human health via regulating the gut microbiota and reviewed their effects on dietary and clinical interventions.

Soluble Dietary Fiber Significance against Obesity in a Western China Population

Objectives. This study aimed to investigate whether soluble dietary fibers (SDFs) could protect against obesity by influencing weight, body mass index (BMI), body fat rate (BFR), visceral fat rate (VFR), or waistline. Methods. We examined obese adult patients from western China at 0 and 3 weeks after an SDF diet. Index assessments of obesity including height, weight, BMI, BFR, VFR, and waistline were carried out. We used the Mann–Whitney U test to examine the difference between the usual diet and the SDF group. Results. Weight, BMI, BFR, and waistline were reduced in both the control group and the SDF group ( P < 0.001 ). The reduction of the four indices in the SDF group was significantly higher than in the control group ( P < 0.001 ). Higher intake of various SDFs has significantly reduced the weight, BMI, BFR, and waistline than the usual diet group in obesity. Conclusion. Our results indicated that increased intake of SDFs in the diet of obese patients would protect against obesity in the first 3 weeks.