Abstract
The demonstration of a physiological benefit has recently become an indispensible element of the definition of dietary fibers. In the here-reported pilot study, the effect of alpha-cyclodextrin (alpha-CD) on the postprandial glycemic and insulinemic effect of starch was examined. Twelve fasted, healthy male volunteers received, on three subsequent days, a test breakfast consisting of (A) 100 g fresh white bread (providing 50 g starch) and 250 mL drinking water, (B) the same bread with a supplement of 10 g alpha-CD dissolved in the drinking water, and (C) 25 g alpha-CD dissolved in drinking water. Capillary and venous blood was sampled before the breakfast and in regular intervals for a three-hour period thereafter. Glucose was determined in capillary blood and insulin in the plasma of venous blood samples. Breakfast (A) led to a rapid rise in blood glucose and insulin. In breakfast (B), alpha-CD reduced the areas under the curve of blood glucose and insulin significantly by 59% and 57%, respectively, demonstrating that alpha-CD inhibits and thereby delays starch digestion. Treatment (C) was not associated with a rise of blood glucose. Hence, alpha-CD complies with the current definition of dietary fiber in every respect.
Highlights
IntroductionAccording to a “Guidance for Industry” that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
According to a “Guidance for Industry” that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA)published in June 2018, isolated or synthetic non-digestible carbohydrates that are added to formulated foods may be declared in nutritional labelling as dietary fiber only if their use has a demonstrated beneficial physiological effect [1]
Measurement of plasma glucose in regular intervals over a two-hour postprandial period showed that the area under the curve (AUC) was negatively related to the alpha-CD dose and that the difference to the untreated controls was significant (p < 0.05) for the midand high-dose alpha-cyclodextrin treatment [3]
Summary
According to a “Guidance for Industry” that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Published in June 2018, isolated or synthetic non-digestible carbohydrates that are added to formulated foods may be declared in nutritional labelling as dietary fiber only if their use has a demonstrated beneficial physiological effect [1]. Only studies in which an isolated or synthetic non-digestible carbohydrate is added to a food (rather than substitutes for a food component) provide evidence of an independent, i.e., active glycemia-lowering effect [2]. Foods 2020, 9, 62 tested that alpha-cyclodextrin lowers the glycemic and insulinemic response to starch ingested with white bread that has a similar high glycemic index to boiled white rice [4] and that is suitable for detecting glycemia and the insulinemia modulating effects of dietary fibers [5,6]
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