Dietary fi bre is the edible parts of plants, or similar carbohydrates, which are resistant to digestion and absorption in the small intestine (Almeida et al., 2013). Natural sources of dietary fi ber are found in the complex mixture of polysaccharides, which make up the cell walls of fruit, vegetables, and whole-grain cereals (Redgwell and Fischer, 2005). However, knowledge on dietary fi bre has improved signifi cantly in both physiological and analytical areas over the last decades. Dietary fi bre has a lot of positive health eff ects, such as bowel function, reduced risk of coronary heart disease, type 2 diabetes and improved weight maintenance.Many analytical methods and defi nitions have evolved over the years. Therefore, approximately comparable dietary fi bre values were produced and presented in food composition databases for use in food research, the food industry and for nutritional counselling and education. Nowadays, dietary fi bre is one of the components in foods that cause a lot of confusion among users and producers of food composition data (Westenbrink et al., 2013). The physiological eff ect of dietary fi bre depends fi rst of all on its origin, the proportions of individual fractions, the degree of comminution of raw materials and the thermal processes applied.
EFFECT OF FOOD PROCESSING ON THE PHYSICOCHEMICAL PROPERTIES OF DIETARY FIBRE
ABSTRACTProducts derived from the manufacturing or processing of plant based foods: cereals, fruits, vegetables, as well as algae, are sources of abundant dietary fi bre. Diets high in dietary fi bre have been associated with the reduced risk of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, hypertension, obesity, and gastrointestinal disorders. These fi bre-rich products and byproducts can also fortify foods, increase their dietary fi bre content and result in healthy products, low in calories, cholesterol and fat. Traditionally, consumers have chosen foods such as whole grains, fruits and vegetables as sources of dietary fi bre. Recently, food manufacturers have responded to consumer demand for foods with a higher fi bre content by developing products in which highfi bre ingredients are used. Diff erent food processing methods also increase the dietary fi ber content of food. Moreover, its chemical and physical properties may be aff ected by food processing. Some of them might even improve the functionality of fi bre. Therefore, they may also be applied as functional ingredients to improve physical properties like the physical and structural properties of hydration, oil-holding capacity, viscosity. This study was conducted to examine the eff ect of diff erent food processing methods on the physicochemical properties of dietary fi bre.
