The Function and Application Field of Resistant Dextrin

Resistant dextrin is processed from starch. It is a low-calorie dextran obtained by extracting and refining the indigestible components of baked dextrin with industrial technology. It belongs to low-molecular water-soluble dietary fiber and has excellent health functions. In recent years, it has been hailed as an important nutrient other than the five major nutrients. It has broad development prospects in the food industry.

1. Product characteristics of resistant dextrin

Resistant dextrin, like other starch decomposition products, is easily soluble in water, has no peculiar smell, and has low sweetness (1/10 of the sweetness of sugar), but the branched structure is developed, it is not easy to age, it is resistant to freezing and cold storage, and it can be stored in aqueous solution for a long time. No precipitation, osmotic pressure, freezing point and other characteristics are roughly consistent with those of maltodextrin with the same DE value (10-12).

2. Functional characteristics of resistant dextrin

Resistant dextrin can be divided into type Ⅰ and type Ⅱ according to the content of dietary fiber. Currently, there are more Type II types on the market. Because it contains ingredients that are not digested by human digestive enzymes, they will not be digested and absorbed in the digestive tract, and thus directly enter the large intestine to exert various physiological functions of dietary fiber.

Compared with various soluble and insoluble dietary fibers currently on the market, resistant dextrin has excellent physiological functions: resistant dextrin helps maintain normal and healthy blood sugar levels and insulin levels, delays and inhibits intestinal digestion and absorption of carbohydrates, improve the sensitivity of peripheral tissues to insulin, and reduce the demand for insulin.

Resistant dextrin can also change the secretion of gastrointestinal hormones and the activity of digestive enzymes in the intestines, inhibit the digestion and absorption of carbohydrates, thereby reducing blood sugar.

Continuous intake of resistant dextrin, a low-molecular-weight water-soluble dietary fiber, can reduce serum cholesterol and neutral fat concentrations and body fat. It can lower blood fat and improve lipid metabolism in patients with various types of hyperlipidemia.

Resistant dextrin is not absorbed in the small intestine, and can directly enter the large intestine, which can promote the growth and reproduction of beneficial intestinal flora, while inhibiting the growth and reproduction of harmful intestinal microorganisms;

Resistant dextrin is fermented in the large intestine to produce short-chain fatty acids, which produce more acid than equivalent dietary fiber. These short-chain fatty acids can prevent the growth and reproduction of cancer cells.

The water-absorbing swelling of resistant dextrin can increase the volume of feces, promote intestinal peristalsis, and have a good preventive effect on constipation, hemorrhoids, colon cancer and other diseases. In addition, it also helps prevent dental caries.

3. Application field and prospect of resistant dextrin

Resistant dextrin has been used in beverages, jams, candies, dairy products and various cereal foods. Due to the wide source of raw material starch for the production of resistant dextrin, low cost, safe and reliable production, its development and application prospects are very good.

As a dietary functional ingredient of food, resistant dextrin can be added to fermented milk or lactic acid beverages, which can not only provide dietary fiber, but also fully exert the biological functions of beneficial intestinal bacteria such as lactic acid bacteria and bifidobacteria, and produce a great synergistic effect, and can be used as a diet food and a health food for people with constipation.

Adding resistant dextrin to baby food can promote the growth of bifidobacteria and the absorption of trace elements in the body; adding resistant dextrin to flour products can increase and improve the color, taste and shelf life of flour products; it can also be used as an excellent fat substitute, adding meat products can improve product yield, enhance taste and quality.

As a kind of dietary fiber, resistant dextrin has the characteristics of natural, not easy to be damp and agglomerated, high water solubility, heat and acid resistance, no special taste and its unique physiological function and good processing characteristics. It can be used as food and Food accessories can be used in unlimited quantities, and this is a feature that other dietary fibers do not have. It is a new type of food raw material worth developing.