Partially Hydrolyzed Guar Gum With Low Viscosity and Prebiotic Activity
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing guar gum products face limitations due to high viscosity and the inability to balance viscosity with bioregulatory activity, making them unsuitable for use in large quantities in food products.
Innovation Solution
A method involving enzymatic hydrolysis of guar gum using β-mannanase, specifically glycosyl hydrolase 5 family enzymes, to produce a partially hydrolyzed guar gum (PHGG) with controlled molecular weights and reduced oligosaccharide content, achieving a balance between viscosity and bioactivity.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If guar gum is used as a water-soluble dietary fiber, then prebiotic physiological functions are achieved, but high viscosity limits its use in food products
Solution Approach 1:
The guar gum polysaccharide chains are segmented through partial hydrolysis using beta-mannanase, breaking long chains into shorter segments. This reduces molecular weight and viscosity while preserving the prebiotic functional properties of the polysaccharide structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The molecular weight parameter of guar gum is changed through controlled enzymatic hydrolysis. By adjusting hydrolysis time, temperature, and enzyme concentration, the viscosity is reduced to an acceptable range while maintaining the prebiotic functionality requiring certain polysaccharide integrity.
2Ease of operation
If guar gum is hydrolyzed to reduce viscosity, then solubility improves, but bioregulatory activity is lost
Solution Approach 1:
Partial hydrolysis is performed rather than complete hydrolysis. The hydrolysis is controlled to achieve only the necessary degree of chain shortening for improved solubility, stopping before the point where bioregulatory activity is compromised. This partial action maintains the balance between solubility and functionality.
Solution Approach 2:
The hydrolysis process uses feedback control by monitoring molecular weight reduction and stopping the reaction when optimal solubility is achieved while preserving bioregulatory activity. The process parameters are adjusted based on real-time assessment of polysaccharide chain integrity.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The PHGG product maintains low viscosity and high solubility while retaining biological regulatory activities, allowing its use in larger amounts without palatability issues, suitable for various food products and dietary supplements.
Implementation Method 1
performing enzymatic hydrolysis on a guar gum sample using a β-mannanase
Implementation Method 2
β-mannanase may include a glycosyl hydrolase 5 family β-mannanase
Data Source
AI summary
The present disclosure disclosed a method for preparing a PHGG sample and a composition containing the PHGG sample. The method may include performing enzymatic hydrolysis on a guar gum sample using a β-mannanase to obtain a reaction mixture. The method may also include processing the reaction mixture to obtain the PHGG sample. The PHGG sample may include a plurality of polysaccharides, and more than 70% by weight of the plurality of polysaccharides may have molecular weights higher than 5,000 Daltons. The PHGG sample includes one or more oligosaccharides that have degrees of polymerization (DP) less than or equal to 10, and in the PHGG sample, a mass concentration of the one or more oligosaccharides having DP less than or equal to 10 is less than 3%.