Organic compounds -- part of the class 532-570 series – Organic compounds – Carbohydrates or derivatives
Reexamination Certificate
1999-12-03
2003-10-07
Fonda, Kathleen K. (Department: 1623)
Organic compounds -- part of the class 532-570 series
Organic compounds
Carbohydrates or derivatives
C536S124000, C514S058000, C426S804000, C127S038000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06630586
ABSTRACT:
The subject matter of the invention is branched maltodextrins, hydrogenated or non-hydrogenated, presenting particular characteristics in terms of levels of glucosidic linkages 1→6, of content of reducing sugars, and of average molecular mass.
The invention relates also to a method of manufacturing said branched maltodextrins. It also applies to an acariogenic composition comprising such branched maltodextrins and at least one polyol, which composition may be used in products intended to be ingested by humans or by animals.
In the sense of the invention, by branched maltodextrins is meant maltodextrins, of which the content of glucosidic linkages 1→6 is greater than that of standard maltodextrins.
Standard maltodextrins are defined as purified and concentrated mixtures of glucose and glucose polymers essentially linked in 1→4 with only 4 to 5% glucosidic linkages 1→6, of extremely varied molecular weights, completely soluble in water and with low reducing power.
These standard maltodextrins are conventionally produced by acidic or enzymatic hydrolysis of cereal or tuber starch. The classification of standard maltodextrins is based mainly on the measurement of their reducing power, conventionally expressed by the notion of Dextrose Equivalent or D.E. On this particular point, the definition of maltodextrins repeated in the Monograph Specifications of the Food Chemical Codex states that the D.E. value must not exceed 20.
Such a measurement of the D.E. is, however, insufficient to represent precisely the molecular distribution of standard maltodextrins. Indeed, acidic hydrolysis of starch, totally random, or its enzymatic hydrolysis, slightly more ordered, provides mixtures of glucose and of glucose polymers which the D.E. measurement alone cannot define with precision, and which includes short molecules with a low degree of polymerisation (D.P.), as well as very long molecules with a high D.P.
The D.E. measurement in fact only gives an approximate idea of the average D.P. of the mixture of glucose and of glucose polymers constituting standard maltodextrins, and thus of their number average molecular weight (Mn). To complete the characterisation of the distribution of the molecular weights of the standard maltodextrins, it is important to determine another parameter, that of the weight average molecular weight(Mp).
In practice, the Mn and Mp values are not calculated, but are measured by different techniques. For example, a method of measuring adapted to glucose polymers is used, which is based on gel-permeation chromatography on calibrated chromatographic columns with pullulans of known molecular weights.
The ratio Mp/Mn is called the index of polymolecularity (I.P.) and makes it possible to characterise overall the distribution of the molecular weights of a polymer mixture. As a general rule, the distribution in molecular weights of standard maltodextrins leads to I.P. values of between 5 and 10.
In terms of applications, standard maltodextrins are used in numerous industrial fields and in particular in the food industry.
However, their low rates of branching, their relatively high content of compounds with low D.P. and the fact that no prebiotic effect is attributed to them, means that standard maltodextrins cannot be used in applications for which there is a need to have polyglucosylated compounds with a low calorific value, with low cariogenicity or which improve the quality of the intestinal flora.
By “polyglucosylated compounds with low calorific value” are meant polyglucosylated compounds which, being only slightly assimilated by the human or animal organism, or being only slightly sensitive to the enzymatic activities of the small intestine, do not provide the calorific value of standard polyglucosylated compounds.
By “polyglucosylated compounds with low cariogenicity”, are meant compounds which show less acidification by the bacteria of the oral cavity than conventional sugars, such as saccharose, glucose, fructose or standard polyglucosylated compounds. The cariogenic effect is in fact due to the presence, in the oral cavity, of bacteria which metabolise the sugars and cause the production of acids. Lowering the pH of the mouth leads to dissolving the hydroxyapatite of the dental enamel and the creation of cavities.
By “improving the quality of the intestinal flora”, is meant promoting the development in the large intestine of micro-organisms which are beneficial to the health of humans or animals, such as bifidogenic, butyrogenic, lactic flora. In this case, there will be talk of prebiotic effect, because improving the development of such a collection of populations of microorganisms which are beneficial to health.
From the above it is apparent that there exists a non satisfied need for having maltodextrins, which as well as their usual properties, have low calorific value, are of low cariogenicity and have the capacity to improve the quality of the intestinal micro-flora.
The Applicant Company had the merit of reconciling all these objectives, previously considered irreconcilable, by devising and developing, at the price of extensive research, new types of products i.e. specific branched maltodextrins.
The branched maltodextrins according to the invention are thus characterised by the fact that they present between 22 and 35%, preferably between 27 and 34%, glucosidic linkages 1→6, a content of reducing sugars lower than 20%, a polymolecularity index lower than 5 and a number molecular weight Mn at most equal to 4500 g/mole.
In practice, the Mn is generally between 250 and 4500 g/mole.
The content of glucosidic linkages 1→6, of between 22 and 35%, gives the branched maltodextrins according to the invention a character of indigestibility, the consequence of which is to reduce their calorific value by preventing their assimilation at the level of the small intestine. Their low content of molecules with a low D.P. such as D.P.1, also contributes to the branched maltodextrins according to the invention presenting a lower calorific value than standard maltodextrins, the quantity of free glucose directly assimilable by the organism being thus greatly reduced. Determining the calorific value of the branched maltodextrins is done by calculation, on the basis of the evaluation of the portion represented by the indigestible fraction in the small intestine and fermented in the large intestine, considered here as providing 2 kcal/g. The branched maltodextrins according to the invention thus have a deduced calorific value lower than 2.5 kcal/g.
The high content of glucosidic linkages 1→6 results in lowering the cariogenic power of the branched maltodextrins according to the invention, by reducing their assimilation by the micro-organisms of the oral cavity.
This high level of glucosidic linkages 1→6 also gives these branched maltodextrins completely specific prebiotic properties. In fact, it has appeared that the bacteria of the caecum and of the colon of humans and animals, such as butyrogenic, lactic or propionic bacteria, metabolise these highly branched compounds.
On the other hand, the branched maltodextrins according to the invention improve the development of bacteria of the bifidogen type to the detriment of the undesirable bacteria. Determining the prebiotic effects of the branched maltodextrins is carried out on animals by the following protocol, perfected by the Applicant Company.
A group of animals, preferably laboratory animals (golden hamsters of the RJ Aura stock) is fed with a solution including 15% by weight/volume of products to be tested. Another control group receives a standard diet. The test is carried out over 14 days, at the end of which the animals are slaughtered and the caecum is removed. The content of acetic, propionic, butyric and lactic acids, which illustrates the development of the corresponding intestinal micro-flora, is determined on the supernatant of a preparation of the contents of the caecum after centrifugation. The analyses carried out after the assimilation of hydrogenated branched maltodextrins wi
Duflot Pierrick
Fouache Catherine
Looten Philippe
Fonda Kathleen K.
Maier Leigh C.
Roquette Freres
Sturm & Fix LLP
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