What are the applications of resistant dextrins in food?

Dietary fiber, as an important nutrient, has an extremely important role in human health and metabolism, and is one of the seven nutrients necessary for human life-sustaining and healthy growth. With the improvement of living standards, people begin to pursue the refined processing of food, which makes a large amount of dietary fiber loss, resulting in insufficient intake of dietary fiber in the human body, so it is necessary to strengthen the content of dietary fiber in food processing.

Dietary fiber can be divided into water-soluble dietary fiber and water-insoluble dietary fiber according to different solubility in water. At present, rough and non-smooth water-insoluble dietary fiber processed products have poor taste, while the application of polymer water-soluble dietary fiber in food processing is still immature because of its high viscosity and high gelation. Therefore, resistant dextrins with low viscosity, easy absorption, and solubility and other good processing characteristics of low molecular water-soluble dietary fibers appeared in the field of vision.

In recent years, researchers have proved through animal experiments and clinical trials that resistant dextrin has the efficacy of controlling body weight, regulating blood lipids, lowering blood glucose, promoting the absorption of minerals, improving human immunity, regulating intestinal flora, and promoting the excretion of uric acid, etc., which has made it a hotspot of concern in the field of water-soluble dietary fibers at present.

Resistant dextrin and its characteristics

Resistant dextrin (also called indigestible dextrin) is a mixture of sugars obtained from starch as raw material, partially degraded by heat treatment in acid solution, and then obtained by glycosyl transfer reaction, which contains α-1,6, α-1,2, α-1,3 glycosidic bonds and other links in the body of the digestive enzymes can not be digested in the part of resistant dextrin. Since resistant dextrin is difficult or slow to digest in the human digestive system, it is used as a bulking agent, fat substitute, prebiotic, and dietary fiber in foods.

Resistant dextrin is a white, slightly yellowish powder, slightly sweet, easily soluble in cold water, insoluble in ethanol, low viscosity in aqueous solution, and the viscosity is little affected by the shear rate and temperature. Resistant dextrin is heat-resistant, acid-resistant, pressure-resistant, freezing-resistant, low browning, storage-resistant, and will not change the quality of food when added to food. Resistant dextrin also has the function of lowering blood glucose and sorting out the intestinal tract, therefore, it is widely used in health care products, dairy products, baby food, bakery products and meat products.

Application of Resistant Dextrin in Food

According to the research statistics, the global revenue of the global resistant dextrin market was 1.86 billion dollars last year, and it is expected to reach 3.34 billion dollars by 2025, and the global revenue will continue to grow in the next few years. At present, in the global market share, North America takes the brunt of the market, ranked second and third is the European region and China, followed by Japan. However, with the development of the industry, global production capacity will gradually shift from Europe, the United States and other developed countries. The world’s main producers now include Japan’s Matsuya Chemical, France’s Roget, Britain’s Tate & Lyle Group and the domestic Shandong Bailong Chuangyuan Biological, BaoLingBao and so on.

Resistant dextrin, as a safe new dietary fiber raw material with functional properties of dietary fiber, is considered a potential prebiotic substance with good processing performance. Currently, resistant dextrin is widely used in beverages, confectionery, chocolate, dairy products, bakery/nutritional bars and meat products, and is also added to food products as a regulator for gel preparation and so on.

I. Application of Resistant Dextrin in Health Products
With the improvement of living standards, diabetes, constipation and other diseases seriously affect people’s health, water-soluble dietary fiber added to health food, will be conducive to controlling the patient’s condition. Resistant dextrin can obviously inhibit the rise of blood glucose and insulin, which is because resistant dextrin can inhibit the digestion and absorption of sugar in the small intestine and improve the peripheral tissue’s insulin receptivity to insulin, which reduces the insulin receptivity.

Resistant dextrin can prevent the diffusion of sugar with the formation of gel and delay the absorption of sugar in the intestine, thus inhibiting the elevation of blood glucose and insulin. Zhang Zesheng et al. studied the effect of resistant dextrin on blood glucose and glucose tolerance in mice. The test showed that resistant dextrin produces a significant effect on diabetic mice to regulate blood glucose, which can have a potential effect on weight control, and can significantly improve the glucose tolerance of diabetic mice and reduce the rate or amount of glucose absorbed by the body.

CaiXiaxia et al. investigated the improvement of milk powder with added inulin and resistant dextrin on glycemic control and insulin resistance in older adults with type II diabetes mellitus through a 12-week randomized trial. Milk powder with inulin and resistant dextrin was shown to help improve glycemic control, insulin resistance and blood pressure control through the trial, but larger trials are needed to evaluate this study.

Hu Fan et al. investigated that resistant dextrin improves insulin resistance in db/db mice by enhancing insulin signaling. The mechanism of action of resistant dextrin in type II diabetic patients was explored by demonstrating that resistant dextrin may improve insulin resistance in db/db mice by enhancing insulin signaling.

Resistant dextrin can resist the action of digestive enzymes in the body, will not be digested and absorbed in the digestive tract, and can enter the large intestine to promote the growth and reproduction of the beneficial intestinal flora, and probiotic metabolism will produce a number of beneficial regulatory substances, which will in turn improve the human immune system and intestinal function, while inhibiting the growth of intestinal harmful microorganisms.

Resistant dextrin absorbs water and expands, which can increase the volume of feces and promote intestinal peristalsis, and thus can play the function of organizing the intestinal tract. Gan Dan et al. did a study on the auxiliary laxative function of a composite formula of Codonopsis pilosulae and Lycopersicon spp. extracts with resistant dextrin. The test showed that the antidextrin alone had a significant effect on the time of the first black stool, the number of black stool particles and the total mass of the mice, and the antidextrin also had a significant effect on the time of the first black stool, the number of black stool particles and the total mass of the mice when it acted in combination with Codonopsis pilosulae and Leptospermum officinale, which indicated that the composite formula had a significant effect on the increase of the small intestinal advancement of mice, the shortening of the time of the constipated mice defecating, and the increase of the number of defecation times and the weight of the stool. This indicates that the composite formulation has significant effect on increasing small intestine propulsion, shortening defecation time, increasing defecation number and weight in constipated mice.

Second, the application of antidextrin in dairy products
The addition of resistant dextrin to dairy products is simple, and has a fiber-enhancing effect on dairy products; at the same time, it can also improve the flavor, texture and sweetness of dairy products. Resistant dextrins added to dairy products have a taste similar to that of fat and can be used as a substitute for fat in the preparation of low-fat, low-calorie dairy products. In addition, resistant dextrin is used in sour dairy products containing lactic acid bacteria and bifidobacteria, and its application is more effective. Mengniu Dairy’s 2018 launch of Slow Burn is a fiber milkshake product, added 4% resistant dextrin, which is done as a water-soluble dietary fiber to increase the sense of satiety of product consumption, regulate the human physiological function, etc.

Chen Xiaoxia et al. studied the effect of resistant dextrin on the quality of curdled yogurt. Through the test, it was determined that when the amount of resistant dextrin added is 6%~20%, the resistant dextrin yogurt can obtain excellent sensory evaluation, which has a broad market development prospect. The thermal characterization of resistant dextrin yogurt showed that its low denaturation temperature, broadening of denaturation peaks and reduction of total reaction enthalpy might be the result of the interaction between resistant dextrin and protein molecules.

Application in Infant Foods
The sudden decrease of bifidobacteria in infants and young children, especially after weaning, leads to diarrhea and anorexia, developmental delay, and reduced utilization of nutrients. Adding resistant dextrin in infant formula food can improve the utilization rate of nutrients and promote the absorption of calcium, iron, zinc and other trace elements.

Fourth, the application of resistant dextrin in beverages
Low calorie and low GI value are important features of dietary fiber, so we can consider replacing fat partially with resistant dextrin in the production of high-calorie beverages to reduce the calorie content of the product. Dietary fiber that enters the intestinal tract in this way can also bring about an excellent environment for the full growth of a variety of probiotics, which has long been the subject of many attempts in the wine and beverage industries. In addition, the addition of water-soluble dietary fiber will also solve the phenomenon of beverage sedimentation and stratification. According to incomplete statistics, functional dietary fiber is most used in fruit juice, followed by dairy products.

Water-soluble dietary fiber beverages are popular in Japan, Europe and other countries. At present, beverage companies such as Coca-Cola and PepsiCo, developed dietary fiber-containing beverages, mineral water; Mengniu and Japan’s Suntory produced dietary fiber-containing yogurt drinks, all with resistant dextrin as dietary fiber added to meet the needs of consumers.

Ma Mengyao et al. compounded a resistant dextrin low-sugar beverage, the amount of resistant dextrin added to the beverage was 12%, and the obtained beverage indicators are in line with the relevant national standards for fruit juice beverages, so that the application of resistant dextrin as a low-sugar excipient additive to meet the trend of beverage consumption.

Tian Fen et al. studied the effect of water-soluble dietary fiber on the stability of fat-free yogurt drinks. Through the study showed that the addition of water-soluble dietary fiber resistant dextrin and polydextrose, from heat treatment, fermentation, finished products and a series of processes, have produced a positive impact on the stability of the system, in which the role of resistant dextrin effect is significant, it is worthwhile to further study, and applied to industrial production.

Fifth, the application of resistant dextrin in noodle products
Resistant dextrin can be added to noodle products to improve the taste and characteristics of the product, can improve the color of bread, change the texture of steamed bread, so that the toughness of the noodles increased and resistant to cooking and soaking. Wang Fen et al. studied the optimization of compounding of buckwheat noodles with resistant dextrin. Through the one-way test and orthogonal test, the optimal formula was obtained for resistant dextrin addition of 6%, under which the organoleptic quality of the noodles was improved, the rate of cooking loss of noodles was reduced, and the rate of broken bars was the lowest.

VI. Application in baking/nutrition bar
Resistant dextrin used in baking/nutrition bar can provide a slight Meladic reaction, reduce the amount of fat added, but also can mask the bitter taste of whole wheat products; mask the bad taste of vitamins; reduce the emulsifier’s strong bitter taste; in addition to resisting the dextrin good water retention, can keep the product in the water is not easy to dissipate, so that the baked goods are fluffy; prolong the shelf life. Resistant dextrin is added as dietary fiber in suka cookies and slim meal replacement cookies, and the amount of resistant dextrin added is 20% and 25%, respectively; XXX low-sugar seaweed cookies add 15% resistant dextrin to increase the product’s texture and reduce the cookie’s calorie.

The results of sensory ratings found that participants’ preferences were similar between cookies with 6% to 30% of resistant dextrin and tough cookies without resistant dextrin, while sensory ratings differed significantly when the amount of resistant dextrin was added at 40% and 50%.

Lin et al. prepared cedar cake using resistant dextrin and sucralose instead of sucrose and found that at low substitution levels (<50%) it did not significantly affect the sensory characteristics of the cake, whereas higher substitution levels (60%, 80%) resulted in lower volume and greater hardness, and lower ratings in sensory tests.

VII. Application of Resistant Dextrins in Alcoholic Beverages
Resistant dextrins are thermally stable, dissolved in pure water can significantly reduce its surface tension, and can maintain the original rheological properties of pure water, which can be added to wine to change its sensory properties.YingZhang et al. studied the effect of resistant dextrins on the quality of rice wine and red wine. The test showed that adding 5% of resistant dextrin can effectively improve the sensory quality of rice wine, can significantly reduce the surface tension and improve the stability of the solution.

Eight, in the candy, chocolate applications
In addition to simply increasing the content of dietary fiber in candy, the addition of resistant dextrin in candy can also achieve the purpose of lowering sugar. For example, adding a small amount of resistant dextrin in soft candy can improve the candy, especially some sugar-free soft candy, due to the lack of sugar dilution support, the texture becomes hard, gelatinous sense is obvious, but after adding a small amount of high-purity resistant dextrin in the formula, the texture is fluffy and soft, no gelatinous sense.

The addition of resistant dextrin to chocolate reduces the calorie content of chocolate, and the flavor is light and not sweet. Currently in the U.S. market, chorczero sugar-free chocolate added anti-dextrin and rosmarinus officinalis, anti-dextrin addition of 1%, almost no difference in taste and ordinary chocolate; Japan Glico Confectionery Company’s Libera Milk Chocolate added 3% of anti-dextrin in the product to increase the dietary fiber and sugar-free claims, widely favored by consumers.

IX. Application in meat products
Resistant dextrin in the application of meat products is relatively little research, at present, the addition of dietary fiber functional meat products are mainly dried meat, ham and sausage, salami and so on. Taking dried meat as an example, dried meat is one of the traditional foods of the Chinese nation, with attractive flavor, long shelf life, easy to carry, and is a necessary food for home travel. However, its meat is dry and hard, which is not suitable for the elderly and children to eat. If we can replace part of the fat in meat products with resistant dextrin, it can not only make the texture of dried meat become soft and improve the yield, but also satisfy the consumers’ demand for natural and healthy food.

As a safe new dietary fiber raw material with the functional properties of dietary fiber and good processing characteristics, resistant dextrin is widely used in the food industry and is a functional food ingredient worth developing. With the improvement of living standards, people have put forward higher requirements for the sensory quality and nutritional health of food. Currently, resistant dextrin is being accepted by more and more countries as an important product for supplementing human dietary fiber, which is bound to bring sustainable and considerable commercial value.