NL2004203C2

NL2004203C2 - Process for the manufacture of an edible dietary fiber composition comprising non-fermentable dietary fibers and a dietary fiber composition.

Info

Publication number: NL2004203C2
Application number: NL2004203A
Authority: NL
Inventors: Marinus Jacobus Vervoort
Original assignee: Inst On My Way B V
Priority date: 2010-02-05
Filing date: 2010-02-05
Publication date: 2011-08-08
Also published as: WO2011096807A1

Description

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P30126NL00/JHO

Title: Process for the manufacture of an edible dietary fiber composition comprising non- fermentable dietary fibers and a dietary fiber composition.

The present invention is related to the manufacture of an edible dietary fiber composition comprising non-fermentable dietary fibers. The invention is further related to a novel dietary fiber composition which may be obtained by said process.

Dietary fibers are known for their beneficial properties. They can be divided into 10 digestible, fermentable and non-fermentable dietary fibers. Digestible dietary fibers are fibers that can be digested in the human small intestine by enzymatic processes. Digestive dietary fibers typically have a caloric contribution up to about 400 kcal/100 grams of dry matter of fiber. Fermentable and non-fermentable dietary fibers are basically non-digestible for human beings. Fermentable dietary fibers, however, can be consumed by microbes living 15 in the human large intestine. Upon consuming the fermentable dietary fibers, these microbes are themselves consumed in the human digestive system. This process uses energy, meaning that fermentable dietary fibers have a caloric contribution of about 200 kcal/100 grams of fermentable fiber. Non-fermentable dietary fibers are not consumed upon traversing the human intestinal tract. Hence, they do not supply energy to the human 20 metabolism.

For this reason, non-fermentable fibers have a caloric contribution of zero. Dietary fibers, in particular fermentable and non-fermentable dietary fibers, are known for their beneficial health effects. As said above, they stimulate the peristaltic activity of the intestines and are believed to reduce the chance of colorectal cancer. They contribute to the capacity 25 of the metabolism to stabilize the glucose level in blood, have a certain capacity to bind harmful or unhealthy substances, have reducing effect on cardiovascular diseases and stimulate defecation in the case of constipation. They also contribute in the prevention of diverticulitis, which is an inflammation of the intestine and supposedly the most abundant complaint of elder people in the western world.

30 The three types of dietary fibers have in common that they are considered to be edible. Edible in this context means that a product is consumable for humans or animals with an intestinal tract similar to the human one, e.g. pigs, dogs, cats, rats or apes. Further on, when mentioning the human intestinal tract, or organs or parts contained in said tract, what is actually meant, is the above broad definition.

35 Edible further means that the composition should traverse the digestive tract, with or without being digested, without any harmful or undesired effect on the health. Both liquid and solid products are considered edible. Wood fibers, are not considered edible and hence -2- are not considered as dietary fibers. Upon consumption, wood fibers may cause discomforts like stomach cramps, or even worse. Wood fibers, or wood-like fibers like e.g. cotton or hemp fibers, are not edible since they contain large amounts of cellulose and lignin. In order to be considered an edible dietary fiber, a fiber should comprise less than 60 wt.-% of 5 cellulose and less than 30 wt.% of lignin, based on total dry matter.

Dietary fibers are typically found in edible material of vegetable origin, also referred to as food raw material. In this context, sources of dietary fibers, in particular non-fermentable dietary fibers, are referred to as edible vegetable material.

Examples of such edible vegetable material are fruit and vegetables, peas, and 10 legumes, but also alleged waste material such as potato peels, fruit peels, citrus pulp and residues of grain. Thus, the range of possible sources for dietary fibers is vast.

The daily consumption of a certain amount of dietary fibers, in particular fermentable and non-fermentable dietary fibers, is believed to contribute to our health. Non-fermentable dietary fibers stimulate inter alia the peristaltic movement of our intestines, supply a 15 negligible amount of calories and bind cholesterol. Unfortunately, western people eat in general too little dietary fibers to take advantage from their contribution to a good health. Indeed, western people consume increasing amounts of energy rich so-called macronutrients such as carbohydrates, proteins and fats. The western taste has evolved into a refined food products taste, meaning that the macronutrients contained in food products 20 are more pure, easy to digest and energy-rich. Examples of such refined food products are white bread, granulated sugar, chips, pale lager beer and so on. A drawback of the increasing purity of macronutrients is that the amount of micronutrients in food products gradually decreases. Micronutrients are nutrients present in trace amounts in food products, whereas macronutrients are the main components of food products. Said micronutrients 25 have a specific nutritional value, typically fulfilling an essential task, e.g. neutralizing free radicals in the body. Examples of micronutrients are vitamins, minerals and bioactive substances. Bioactive in this context means positive interaction with or effect on any cell tissue in the human body. Shortage of micronutrients causes all kinds of disorders and illnesses. In the western world, an increase of micronutrient deprivation related illnesses is 30 observed.

Another drawback of the increasingly refined food products is that components which are in general considered distasteful, like e.g. hulls, husks, bran, small kernels and germs are reduced or even excluded from said food products. This is an unfavourable development, since these components contain the largest amounts of (non-fermentable) 35 dietary fibers and are rich of micronutrients.

To increase the consumption of dietary fibers, food product manufacturers develop food products which contain larger amounts of dietary fibers.

-3- A product containing dietary fibers is known for instance from EP-A1- 0166824. It describes a composition having an increased ratio of dietary fiber to digestible material (macronutrients) to allow for consumption of high percentages of so-called insoluble dietary fiber (herein referred to as non-fermentable fibers), without the disadvantage of high caloric 5 intake. The starting material for the composition is cereal bran which is enzymatically and chemically purified and then isolated. The insoluble dietary fiber is then coated with a soluble dietary fiber. Although this dietary fiber composition has the above benefits to some degree, it has the disadvantage of containing both fermentable (soluble) and non-fermentable (insoluble) dietary fibers, meaning the composition is a relatively rich source of 10 energy. Besides, due to the manufacture process, the composition hardly contains micronutrients.

Recently, a product for treating overweight has entered the market which consists wholly of non-fermentable fibers. This product is manufactured from wood fibers and is chemical treated as a starting material. The product has no caloric contribution and provides 15 some of the above advantages of dietary fibers, i.e. giving a satisfied feeling, stimulating peristaltic activity and binding cholesterol. However, this is not an appropriate food product. Wood fibers are generally not suited to be digested or fermented in the human digestive system. They need special treatment in order to be consumable and to be useful as product for treating over weight. According to the present invention, and from a human perspective, 20 the wood fibers are no dietary fibers. Moreover, the product does not contain micronutrients. This means that this food supplement cannot be used as e.g. meal replacement. Besides, food products should meet a vast number of FDA regulations across the world. It will be very hard for a product consisting mainly of wood fibers which are not digestible for humans to be acknowledged as a food product. A more acceptable product would therefore be quite 25 attractive.

People who want to loose weight may benefit from a meal replacement which helps to loose weight and preferably contains essential micronutrients as well.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an edible dietary fiber composition which has a zero or even negative caloric contribution, which exhibits all the 30 advantages associated with the consumption of dietary fibers and which comprises valuable micronutrients.

It is another object of this invention to provide a dietary fiber product which can be added to, processed in or processed as a food product.

This object is achieved by a process for the manufacture of an edible dietary fiber 35 composition comprising non-fermentable dietary fibers, comprising the step of: a) treating edible vegetable material comprising fermentable and non-fermentable dietary fibers with microbes living in the human intestinal tract and/or enzymes -4- present in, originating from these microbes living in the human intestinal tract or enzymes identical thereto, thereby removing fermentable dietary fibers and isolating the composition comprising non-fermentable dietary fibers.

The invention is based on the inventor’s insight that microbes living in the human 5 intestinal tract can be used to manufacture a dietary fiber composition that does not supply energy to the human metabolism upon digestion and that is rich in non-fermentable dietary fibers and comprises micronutrients. Said composition might be manufactured from all kinds of vegetable material. This means that not only the product comprises micronutrients, but also that the spectrum of micronutrients can be tuned as wanted be selecting the proper 10 type or a combination of types of vegetable material. Such a dietary fiber composition can be used in a food product as an aid in loosing weight, as a slimming snack or even as replacement for a meal. It can also be adapted for consumption for people with diabetes or osteoporosis.

The invention is hereafter discussed in greater detail.

15 According to the invention an edible composition is manufactured. The composition is edible as such, but probably the composition as such is hygroscopic and not so tasty. This means that preferably the composition is further processed to manufacture food products with an at least acceptable taste. Further processed means that the composition may be added to food products, that the composition may be converted into a food product which 20 comprises also small amounts of other substances to improve edibility or that the composition may be processed essentially pure for the manufacture of e.g. slimming pills or capsules.

The composition is manufactured from edible vegetable material, comprising both fermentable and non-fermentable dietary fibers. As said above, wood fibers are not 25 considered dietary fibers since they contain high levels of cellulose and lignin. Preferably, dietary fibers according to the invention comprise less than 60, more preferably less than 50, most preferably less than 40 wt-% of cellulose and/or preferably less than 30, more preferably 25, most preferably 20 wt-% of lignin, all percentages based on the dry matter content.

30 According to the invention, the vegetable material is subjected to a fermentation process using microbes (which includes mixtures of microbes). In this process, fermentable dietary fibers are fermented by enzymes, i.e. fermentation enzymes, present in the microbes. The microbes preferably used are microbes which live in the human large intestine. Advantageously, the selected cultures containing the microbes, can show little 35 toxic or harmful activity or small side effects and have negligible pathogenic effects.

Preferably, during the fermentation process, the toxic and pathogenic effects are low. The fermentation process is not the result of the activity of one particular microbe species, but -5- the result of a complex symbiotic relationship between at least several microbe cultures. Above microbes may be isolated from their natural habitat and subsequently cultivated. Actually, the fermentation enzymes present inside the microbes are fermenting the fermentable dietary fibers. According to one embodiment of the invention, these 5 fermentation enzymes may be isolated from the microbes, thereby killing the microbes and thereby keeping the essential enzymes intact. Subsequently, these isolated fermentation enzymes may be used to ferment the fermentable dietary fibers. In doing so, any pathogenic or toxic risks are further reduced.

Fermentation enzymes, corresponding to those isolated according to the 10 embodiment described above, but commercially available and/or of synthetic origin, may also be used in step a).

As explained, the vegetable material is treated with microbes to remove fermentable dietary fibers (step a). In order to enable the microbes to perform the above task, it might be necessary to pre-treat the vegetable material. This pre-treatment for instance comprises 15 cleaning, mixing, homogenizing and/or pasteurizing the vegetable material. Optionally, the pre-treatment step is followed by a dissolution step in order to retrieve the nutrients present in the vegetable material. To perform this dissolution step, the vegetable material may be treated with an acidic or basic solution, if necessary carried out under pressure and/or elevated temperature. It is understood that the above pre-treatment and dissolution step are 20 common practise for the skilled person who also knows which specific pre-treatment and/or dissolution step should be carried out for a specific type of vegetable material. This skilled person also knows that it might be necessary to remove off-flavour substances upon pretreating the vegetable material. Off-flavour substances are substances with an unpleasant or undesired flavour or smell. Said off-flavour substances may be formed as side or rest 25 products when pre-treating the vegetable material. Off-flavour substances can also be present due to natural occurring decay processes in the vegetable material. The skilled person further knows that removing off-flavour substances or applying certain chemical, mechanical or thermal treatment steps might be necessary during the whole manufacturing process.

30 According to the invention, the dietary fiber composition is manufactured from vegetable material comprising non-fermentable dietary fibers. Besides these non-fermentable dietary fibers the vegetable material may also comprise digestible and/or fermentable dietary fibers and/or caloric contributing components like e.g. macronutrients such as carbohydrates, fats and proteins. Typically, the vegetable material has a certain 35 caloric value, meaning that upon consuming this vegetable material, energy is supplied to the metabolism.

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Preferably, the vegetable material comprises less than 400, preferably less than 300 and most preferably less than 200 kilocalories per 100 grams of dry matter of said vegetable material. This caloric value may be an intrinsic property of a particular vegetable material, but the vegetable material having the above caloric value may also be prepared by removing 5 calorie rich components from an original source of edible vegetable material with more than 400, preferably more than 300 and most preferably more than 200 kilocalories per 100 grams of dry matter. Besides using microbes, or the enzymes present in the microbes, also other means may be used to render the caloric contributing nutrients inaccessible. Examples of such other means are the Maillard and related reactions, according to which digestible 10 nutrients such as sugars are rendered inaccessible by heating the nutrient containing food product, thereby inducing a reaction between certain chemical compounds present in the food product, e.g. a sugar and an amino acid in the case of the Maillard reaction.

Microbes digesting macronutrients and dietary fibers need energy to carry out their task. This energy is inter alia obtained by consuming micronutrients present in the vegetable 15 material. This means that the content of micronutrients in the composition is suboptimal, since parts of these micronutrients are consumed by the microbes.

In order to increase the amount of micronutrients in the dietary fiber composition, preferably, prior to step a), the vegetable material is treated with enzymes to remove caloric contributing components such as macronutrients and digestible dietary fibers (step b).

20 Without such macronutrients and digestible dietary fibers to live on, the microbes used in the process of the invention will consume the fermentable dietary fibers, leaving the non-fermentable fibers and most of the micronutrients, in tact.

Enzymes normally are highly specific towards one specific type of reaction. To remove a certain type of fatty acid, a different enzyme should be used than to remove a 25 certain type of carbohydrate. Therefore, in order to remove the macronutrients and digestible dietary fibers, preferably a mixture of enzymes is used. The enzymatic treatment may be carried out in one step, i.e. contacting the vegetable material with an enzyme solution comprising all required enzymes. However, the enzymatic treatment may also be carried out in various sub steps.

30 The enzymes used to remove the macronutrients are so-called digestive enzymes, meaning they leave the fermentable dietary fibers in tact. Digestive enzymes are inter alia found in the digestive tract of animals (including humans) where they aid in the digestion of food. Preferably, the enzymes are selected from proteases and peptidases which split proteins into amino acids, lipases which split fat into three fatty acids and glycerol and 35 carbohydrases which split carbohydrates such as starch into sugars. More preferably, commercial available enzymes like e.g. econase and alcalase are used to remove the macronutrients and digestible dietary fibers.

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After the enzymatic treatment the reaction products will be separated. Extracted substances which represent a nutritious and/or commercial value can be reused and for that purpose will successively be separated, isolated and purified. Examples of said substances are glucose, peptides, fatty acids, etc..

5 As said before, the dietary fiber composition is manufactured from edible vegetable material.

According to a preferred embodiment, the vegetable material comprises vegetable material which is derived from the processing of agricultural or horticultural crops.

Preferably, the vegetable material contains large amounts of non-fermentable dietary 10 fibers. This way, less macronutrients and degraded digestible and fermentable dietary fibers need to be separated from the non-fermentable dietary fibers, leading to a lower energy consumption.

More preferably, the vegetable material is selected from the group comprising sugar beet pulp, potato peelings and residues of potato processing, residues of fruit and vegetable 15 processing like e.g. skins of tomatoes, residues of grain, seeds and legume processing like e.g. hulls, husks, bran, brewer’s spent grain, residues of the wine industry like kernels and skins of grapes, grasses, herbs, straw and chaff that are typically considered waste, or combinations thereof.

Most preferably, the organic waste material is selected from the group comprising of 20 spent grain, beet pulp, citrus pulp, grass meal, oat or wheat waste meal, lupines, rice waste, rice feed meal, flour, potato peel, flaxseed hulls and husks, sesame seed hulls and husks, grape seed junk and grape pulp.

Upon selecting the vegetable material, the amount of non-fermentable dietary fibers and micronutrients present in the vegetable material plays a role, defining the quality of a 25 particular vegetable material. Also economic parameters such as the price of a particular vegetable material and the costs of processing said vegetable material may play a role. Preferably, the vegetable material is selected which has the most favourable price/quality ratio.

In another preferred embodiment of the invention, the dietary fiber composition 30 comprises also micronutrients, as opposed to macronutrients.

Another aspect of the invention is related to a dietary fiber composition and a food product comprising said composition.

In particular the invention is related to an edible dietary fiber composition having less than 60, preferably less than 40, more preferably less than 20 kilocalories per 100 grams of 35 dry matter, comprising non-fermentable dietary fibers and micronutrients, wherein the combined amount of macronutrients, digestible and fermentable dietary fibers is less than 15, preferably less than 10, more preferably less than 5 wt-%, based on dry matter.

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The passage of non-fermentable dietary fibers through the intestinal tract requires energy. The current inventor realized that such non-fermentable dietary fibers combine the supply of essentially zero, or less than, metabolic energy with the beneficial effects attributed to dietary fibers and micronutrients, thus providing a nutritious and high-quality 5 dietary fiber composition.

In a preferred embodiment, food additives with a beneficial effect are added to the dietary fiber composition. Preferably, these additives have a stimulating effect on the metabolism, i.e. their consumption accelerates the metabolic rate or increases body temperature. More preferably, these additives are selected from the group consisting of 10 capsiate, epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), caffeine, L-tyrosine and iodide.

According to the invention, the dietary fiber composition can be used in a food product. Preferably, the composition is first conditioned. The process of conditioning may comprise chemical, mechanical and/or thermal treatment steps; the addition of specific substances which have a positive influence on the final food product, or the removal of off-15 flavour components. The particular conditioning process is determined by the requirements of the final food product. As an example, the dietary fiber composition may be gelatinized in order to manufacture a food product with a certain bite. For that purpose, a certain amount of a weak organic acid may be added to the dietary fiber composition in order to manufacture an airy and crispy food product.

20 According to the invention, the dietary fiber composition can be used in a food product. For different types of food products, different requirements exists. Slimming products for instance preferably supply as little calories as possible. As another example, people suffering from diabetes benefit from food products which comprise different kinds of carbohydrates, i.e. carbohydrates having a different glycemic index. As a further example, 25 food products for people suffering from osteoporosis are considered. These food products preferably comprise micronutrients such as vitamin D and calcium bearing minerals which have a beneficial effect on bone strength and stability.

According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the dietary fiber composition can be added to food products like e.g. bread products, pastry, cereals, snacks, pasta and 30 drinks. Preferably, the dietary fiber composition is added in an amount of at least 10 wt-%, more preferably in an amount of from 10 to 40 wt-%. A food product manufactured this way contains less energy and is more healthy, while retaining its original taste or acquiring a more favourable and special taste.

According to another preferred embodiment of the invention, the dietary fiber 35 composition itself can be a starting material for a food product. The resulting food product may comprise about 70 wt-% or higher of the dietary fiber composition. Said food product is prepared by chemically, mechanically and/or thermally converting the dietary fiber -9- composition into said food product. Advantageously, such a food product may be a special purpose food product as defined above, i.e. a slimming product, a diabetes product or an osteoporosis product. Preferably the food product is in the form of a bar, a cookie or biscuit. Advantageously, the effect can be reinforced by adding additives to the food product. For 5 example, it may be beneficial to add calcium to an osteoporosis bar.

In a preferred embodiment, specific macronutrients are added to diabetes products. More preferably, these macronutrients are carbohydrates with various glycemic indices.

According to still another preferred embodiment of the invention, the dietary fiber composition is used to manufacture a dietary supplement. Such a dietary supplement is 10 prepared by chemically, mechanically and/or thermally converting the dietary fiber composition into the dietary supplement. Preferably, the dietary supplement is in the form of a pill, a capsule. Advantageously, the effect can be reinforced by adding additives that enhance the metabolism.

At the end of the process, the product may be sterilized, for instance by heating.

15 Traces of macronutrients and/or fermentable dietary fibers, if any, may be converted into indigestible matter by a controlled Maillard reaction.

Claims

A method of manufacturing an edible dietary fiber composition comprising non-fermentable dietary fibers, comprising the steps of: a) treating edible plant material comprising fermentable and non-fermentable dietary fibers with microbes living in the human gastrointestinal tract and / or fermentation enzymes present in, or derived from, these microbes, or identical thereto; for the removal of fermentable dietary fibers; and b) isolating the composition comprising non-fermentable dietary fibers, wherein prior to step a) the plant material is treated with digestive enzymes to remove high-calorie components such as macronutrients and digestible fibers.

Method according to claim 1, wherein the edible vegetable material comprises less than 400 kilocalories per 100 grams of dry matter in vegetable material and wherein the non-fermentable dietary fibers from less than 60% by weight of cellulose and / or less than 30% by weight of lignin based on the dry matter content.

The method of claim 2, wherein the digestive enzymes are selected from proteases, peptidases, lipases, carbohydrases, and mixtures thereof.

Method according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the vegetable material is obtained from agricultural or horticultural crops. 25

A method according to claim 4, wherein the vegetable material is selected from the group consisting of sugar beet pulp, potato peels and residual products from potato processing, residual products from vegetable and fruit processing, residual products from cereals, seeds and legumes -11 - processing, beer broth, residual products from the wine industry, grasses, herbs, straw and chaff, or combinations thereof.

The method of claim 5, wherein the edible vegetable material 5 is selected from the group consisting of kernels and skins of grapes, skins of tomatoes and mixtures thereof.

7. A method according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the edible plant material is treated with the microbes that live in the human gastrointestinal tract.

8. A dietary fiber composition with less than 60 kilocalories per 100 grams of dry matter, comprising non-fermentable dietary fibers and micronutrients, wherein the combined macronutrient, digestible and fermentable dietary fiber content is less than 15% by weight based on the dry matter content.

The dietary fiber composition of claim 8, wherein the composition comprises additives selected from the group consisting of capsate, epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), caffeine, L-tyrosine, and iodine. 20

A dietary fiber composition according to claims 8 or 9, obtained by the method according to any of the preceding claims 1-7.

11. Use of a dietary fiber composition according to any of the preceding claims 8-10 in a food product.

A food product comprising the dietary fiber composition according to any of the preceding claims 8-10. 30

Food product according to claim 12, prepared by adding said composition to said food product. - 12-

A food product according to claim 13, prepared by adding said composition to said food product in an amount of at least 10% by weight.

The food product of claim 14 prepared by adding said composition to said food product in an amount of about 10-40% by weight.

16. Food product according to claim 12, which comprises approximately 70% of the dietary fiber composition according to claim 9, prepared by chemically, mechanically and / or thermally converting the dietary fiber composition into said food product.

17. A food product according to claim 16, wherein the food product is a food product with a specific application selected from the group consisting of weight loss products, diabetes products or osteoporosis products.

18. A food product according to claim 17, wherein the food product is a diabetes product and wherein the food product further comprises carbohydrates with different glycemic indices.

A dietary supplement comprising the dietary fiber composition according to any of the preceding claims 8-10.

A food supplement according to claim 19, prepared by chemically, mechanically and / or thermally converting the dietary fiber composition into said dietary supplement.

21. A nutritional supplement according to claim 19 or 20, wherein the nutritional supplement is a pill or a capsule.