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Alpha-Cyclodextrin Functions as a Dietary Fiber

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Functionality of Cyclodextrins in Encapsulation for Food Applications

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Abstract

Dietary fiber is an essential nutrient and promotes health. Cyclodextrins (CDs) are cyclic oligosaccharides that are composed of glucopyranose molecules linked by α-1,4-glycosidic bonds. CDs are used as food additives and in pharmaceutical formulations because they improve the stability and water solubility of guest molecules. Furthermore, alpha-cyclodextrin (α-CD) is a safe food additive that is not degraded by human digestive enzymes but by the gut microbiota. Because of this, it represents a source of dietary fiber and promotes health. Several studies have shown that α-CD can ameliorate or prevent metabolic disease because it inhibits carbohydrate, fat, and cholesterol absorption by encapsulating digestive enzymes, phospholipids, and food ingredients. Furthermore, α-CD has various health promoting effects that are exerted via effects on the gut microbiota, which include anti-obesity and anti-atherosclerotic effects, the amelioration of constipation, bone strengthening, the improvement of gut immunity, the amelioration of allergic disease, and the improvement of exercise performance. Interestingly, the prebiotic effects of α-CD differ from those of conventional beneficial fermentable dietary fibers, which exert their effects via Bifidobacterium, because it affects Lactobacillus and Bacteroides, which readily generate short-chain fatty acids. In conclusion, α-CD is a useful type of dietary fiber because it has two distinct beneficial effects: to form complexes with guest molecules and to act as a prebiotic.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. CycloChem Bio Co., Ltd., Kobe, Hyogo, Japan

    Keita Chikamoto & Keiji Terao

  2. Department of Social/Community Medicine and Health Science, Food and Drug Evaluation Science, Graduate School of Medicine, Kobe University, Kobe, Hyogo, Japan

    Keiji Terao

Authors
  1. Keita Chikamoto
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  2. Keiji Terao
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Correspondence to Keita Chikamoto .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Food and Nutrition, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland

    Thao M. Ho

  2. Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition, Setsunan University, Osaka, Japan

    Hidefumi Yoshii

  3. CycloChem Bio Co., Ltd., Department of Social/Community Medicine and Health Science, Food and Drug Evaluation Science, Graduate School of Medicine, Kobe University, Kobe, Hyogo, Japan

    Keiji Terao

  4. School of Agriculture and Food Sciences, University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, Australia

    Bhesh R. Bhandari

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Chikamoto, K., Terao, K. (2021). Alpha-Cyclodextrin Functions as a Dietary Fiber. In: Ho, T.M., Yoshii, H., Terao, K., Bhandari, B.R. (eds) Functionality of Cyclodextrins in Encapsulation for Food Applications. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-80056-7_13

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