Surveys have shown that dietary fiber derived from grains in the diet has a greater effect on human health than other sources of dietary fiber. Oat -glucan is an important dietary fiber component of cereals. There is a lot of evidence that beta-glucan has significant health benefits, including diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and many chronic diseases.
Beta Glucan Food Sources
The sources of -glucan are very wide, which can be obtained from various natural plants such as seaweed, wheat, oats, and barley, as well as microorganisms such as yeast, Alcaligenes, and edible fungi.
-glucan is mainly present in the sub-aleurone layer and endosperm cell wall of the grain. Barley (2.5 percent ~11.3 percent ) and oats (2.2 percent ~7.8 percent ) have the highest content. Rye (1.2 percent -2.0 percent ) and wheat (0.4 percent -1.4 percent ) also contain less beta-glucan.
Nutrition Function of Oat beta-glucan
Beta-glucan is an important class of water-soluble dietary fiber. The digestion, absorption and metabolism of beta-glucan and its food are closely related to healthy functions. Its nutritional functions mainly include effects on gastrointestinal health, hypoglycemic, lipid-lowering and weight loss, improvement of intestinal flora, antioxidant and anti-inflammatory, immune promotion and some anti-cancer functions.
Application of oat beta-glucan in food
1. The use of -glucan to develop functional yogurt not only meets nutritional guidelines, but also does not affect the properties of yogurt.
2. The application of oat beta-glucan in gluten-free products also showed positive effects, with good effects in terms of texture, volume and sensory.
3. The application of oat beta-glucan in beverage products can not only increase the viscosity of beverages, but also meet the health requirements approved by the FDA to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease.
4. In addition, high molecular -glucan can also be used in cosmetics. beta-glucan for skin has a variety of skin-protecting effects such as anti-wrinkle, anti-aging, and reducing external stimuli.
5. It can also be added to sausages to improve the elasticity and chewiness of sausages, and to enhance the taste and nutrition of sausages.
Summary
Oat Beta glucan has been isolated and purified from various grains and their by-products (bran, etc.) and used in the production of various foods. Adding grain beta-glucan to food can increase the dietary fiber content of food and improve its health benefits. At the same time, it can improve food quality by utilizing the functional properties of -glucan such as its own viscosity, gel properties and flow properties.
Therefore, cereal oat beta-glucan has become one of the hottest raw materials or food ingredients in the field of health food.