Dr.

Tariq Ismail
 Originally called as crude fiber or indigestible material
 Extraction of dietary fiber from food was introduced in
early 1990s and presently such fibers (soluble and
insoluble) are added as functional fibers

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Definition
Dietary Fiber:
Non-digestible (by human digestive enzymes)
carbohydrates and lignin that are intact and intrinsic in
plants
 Functional Fibers:
Functional fiber consists of non-digestible carbohydrates
that have been isolated, extracted, or manufactured and
have been shown to have beneficial physiological effects
in humans.

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Fiber and plant
 The plant cell wall (primary and secondary) contain more than
95% of the dietary fibers
 Secondary cell wall of a mature plant is the major source of
cellulose strands orderly arranged in non-cellulosic
polysaccharides
 Hemicellulose makes upto 20 – 30% of the cell wall
 Energy contents of the plant i.e., starch is contained within the
cell wall
 Lignin are also dietary fibers that provide structural support to
the plant while its contents increase with plant maturity

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Fiber and plant

 Pectin is also a type of dietary fiber act as

intercellular cement in plant
 Waxes are considered in the same category that
serve as coating for plant external surfaces

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Plant foods – primary source of
dietary fibers
 Consuming plant foods provides fiber in
the diet
 Plant species, part of the plant like
stem, leaves, roots, fruits, and plant
maturity significantly influence dietary
fibers composition (cellulose,
hemicellulose, lignin, pectin, etc.) and
their contents

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Fiber and plant

 Eating fruits and vegetables provides almost

equal quantity i.e. upto 30% of cellulose and
pectin
 Contrarily, cereals are low in cellulose

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Cellulose
 Main component of plant cell walls.
 Considered a dietary fiber as well as a functional fiber
when added to foods.
 Chemically, its a long, linear polymer
(a high-molecular-weight substance made up of a chain of
repeating units) of β 1-4 linked glucose units.
 Being a large, linear, neutrally charged molecule,
cellulose is water insoluble,
 It can be modified chemically to be more water soluble
for use as a food additive e.g., carboxymethylcellulose
(CMC), methylcellulose, and hydroxy propyl
methylcellulose. 9
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Beta glucan: A highly valuable soluble dietary fiber
mainly derived from the oat is used as functional
fiber in management of certain chronic diseases like
diabetes, cardiovascular disorders

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Cellulose
 Extent to which cellulose is degraded in human
gut depends on colonic bacteria, but generally it
is poorly fermented
Examples
 Some examples of foods high in cellulose
relative to other fibers include bran, legumes,
nuts, peas, root vegetables, vegetables of the
cabbage family, the outer covering of seeds,
and apples.
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Cellulose
 Purified, powdered cellulose (usually isolated from wood)
and modified cellulose are often added to foods, for
example, as a thickening or texturing agent or to prevent
caking or syneresis (leakage of liquid)
 Some examples of foods to which cellulose or a modified
form of cellulose is added include breads, cake mixes,
sauces, sandwich spreads, dips, frozen meat products (e.g.,
chicken nuggets), and fruit juice mixes
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