Inulin‐type fructans and short‐chain fructooligosaccharides—their role within the food industry as fat and sugar replacers and texture modifiers—what needs to be considered!

Abstract

With the incidence of obesity and obesity-related diseases on the increase, the food industry is facing increasing pressure from both governmental and public health bodies to modify food products to reduce both fat and sugar intakes to help combat the burden of disease (Krystyjan et al., 2015;Rodriguez-Garcia et al., 2013). Both fat and sugar play vital roles in determining the physical, chemical, and, ultimately, sensory properties of several food products enjoyed by consumers, so it has become necessary for manufacturers to find suitable alternatives to both fat and sugar that do not result in drastic changes to a given food products' final rheological and sensory quality.Inulin and oligofructose (OF) are nondigestible carbohydrates belonging to a group of carbohydrates termed inulin-type fructans (ITF; Karimi et al., 2015). ITF are composed of monomers of

Properties, Structure, and Acceptability of Innovative Legume-Based Biscuits with Alternative Sweeteners

“…In the past, an opposite effect has been reported [ 33 ]. This increase could be attributed to the fat-enhancing properties of oligofructose, which could lead to an increase in biscuit hardness [ 25 , 55 ]. The addition of lentil flour caused a significant increase in biscuits' F max , with the highest value observed for the samples containing 15 and 30% legume flour, independently of the sugar substitution.…”

“…The findings were considered a starting point for future research and development of functional GF products. Oligofructose, a natural sugar comprising mainly of β -(2→1) fructosyl units ( n = 2 − 10), could be used for partial and/or total sugar substitution in biscuits, contributing to reduced caloric value while imparting sweetness [ 25 , 26 ]. Depending on its commercial grade, it could affect various quality characteristics as well as physicochemical, structural, texture, and sensory properties, necessitating further investigation when added to biscuit formulations.…”

Microbial inulinase promotes fructan hydrolysis under simulated gastric conditions

“…Acid hydrolysis was likely contributing to the apparent peak in inulinase activity at lower pH, while the second peak around pH 5 was due solely to inulinase activity. Acid-mediated hydrolysis of inulin at pH < 4 has previously been described (8). Additionally, we directly measured fructose concentration by HPLC at the end of the pH-modified inulinase activity assay.…”

“…The prebiotic inulin, by contrast, is a long-chain fructan (Glu-Fru n ) with average DP > 10. Inulin is produced by several plants, such as Jerusalem artichoke (DP < 40), chicory root (DP < 100), and agave (8). Several clinical trials of inulin supplementation have demonstrated its utility as a prebiotic (4).…”

Textural, rheological, melting properties, particle size distribution, and NMR relaxometry of cocoa hazelnut spread with inulin‐stevia addition as sugar replacer

“…It was shown in a study that the combined use of inulin and stevia yielded improvement in the growth and activity of probiotic bacteria (Ozcan et al, 2021). Inulin is also used in the production of various types of food products as fat and sugar replacers and texture modifiers (Jackson et al, 2022; Mudannayake et al, 2022; Ozcan & Eroglu, 2022). Inulin has already been used in chocolate formulations by several researchers.…”