Abstract
Maize is a major source of food in Mexico, especially for low-income populations. To improve its nutritional value, maize kernel is exposed to an alkali-treatment called nixtamalization. However, this process generates large volumes of alkaline wastewater (nejayote) with a high concentration of organic matter, especially nonstarch polysaccharides like arabinoxylans (AX), which are part of the dietary fiber (DF) intake of humans. AX selectively enhances beneficial colonic microbiota growth, favoring good health in the host. This polysaccharide promotes prebiotic, antioxidant, antitumoral, and immunomodulatory activities. Furthermore, AX can form covalent gels with potential applications as encapsulation agents in the food, pharmaceutical, and biomedical industries. This chapter discusses nejayote as a source of AX that presents good health promotional characteristics.
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