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Cellulose is a polymer made with repeated glucose units bonded together by beta-linkages. Humans and many animals lack an enzyme to break the beta-linkages, so they do not digest cellulose. Certain animals, such as termites can digest cellulose, because bacteria possessing the enzyme are present in their gut. Cellulose is insoluble in water.
Starch or amylum is a polymeric carbohydrate consisting of numerous glucose units joined by glycosidic bonds. This polysaccharide is produced by most green plants for energy storage. Worldwide, it is the most common carbohydrate in human diets, and is contained in large amounts in staple foods such as wheat, potatoes, maize (corn), rice, and ...
Inulin-containing foods can be rather gassy, especially for those unaccustomed to inulin and these foods should be consumed in moderation at first. [citation needed] Inulin is a soluble fiber, one of three types of dietary fiber including soluble, insoluble and resistant starch. Soluble fiber dissolves in water to form a gelatinous material.
Plant foods contain both types of fiber in varying amounts according to the fiber characteristics of viscosity and fermentability. [1] [5] Advantages of consuming fiber depend upon which type is consumed. [6] Bulking fibers – such as cellulose and hemicellulose (including psyllium) – absorb and hold water, promoting bowel movement ...
Sugar alcohols can be, and often are, produced from renewable resources.Particular feedstocks are starch, cellulose and hemicellulose; the main conversion technologies use H 2 as the reagent: hydrogenolysis, i.e. the cleavage of C−O single bonds, converting polymers to smaller molecules, and hydrogenation of C=O double bonds, converting sugars to sugar alcohols.
The cellulose used as a food additive is usually made from wood pulp or cotton lint, according to the Center for Science in the Public Interest, an independent food and health watchdog group.
Essential nutrients cannot be synthesized by the body, and must be obtained from food. Molecules of carbohydrates and fats consist of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen atoms. Carbohydrates range from simple monosaccharides (glucose, fructose, galactose) to complex polysaccharides (starch, glycogen).
In contrast, each polymer of cellulose comprises 7,000–15,000 glucose molecules. [5] In addition, hemicelluloses may be branched polymers, while cellulose is unbranched. Hemicelluloses are embedded in the cell walls of plants, sometimes in chains that form a 'ground' – they bind with pectin to cellulose to form a network of cross-linked ...