The dietary fiber market continues to grow in innovation and competition. According to research data from Zhongyan PwC, the production of dietary fiber in China reached 232,800 tons in 2022, with a value of 4.449 billion yuan, and it is expected to increase to 5.569 billion yuan by 2026.
On August 15, BioActor, a subsidiary of the French Solabia Group and a Dutch nutritional health products company, developed a clinically validated extract of arabinoxylan oligosaccharides from wheat germ, called “Naxus.” Research indicates that this substance has a significant promoting effect on blood sugar control and increased satiety.
In 2018, the U.S. FDA approved arabinoxylan as a dietary fiber, allowing its addition to food or dietary supplements. On March 14, 2022, China’s CFSA solicited public opinions on arabinoxylan as a new food ingredient.
The prebiotic “Naxus” that enhances satiety
Arabinoxylan (AX), a type of hemicellulose, coexists with cellulose in the cell walls of most plant cells, comprising a heterogeneous polysaccharide composed of arabinose and xylose.
The primary sources of arabinoxylan are cereal bran such as wheat, rye, oats, barley, sorghum, and corn husks, classified based on solubility into water-soluble arabinoxylan (WEAX) and water-insoluble arabinoxylan (WUAX)［1］.
The unique emulsifying ability, high viscosity, and the ratio of arabinose to xylose in arabinoxylan determine its functions in antioxidant, prebiotic, immune-modulating, and blood sugar regulation aspects, widely applied in the food and pharmaceutical industries.
Antioxidant
Arabinoxylan has good antioxidant properties. For example, arabinoxylan from Indian millet contains hydroxy cinnamic acids (caffeic acid, ferulic acid, and coumaric acid), imparting antioxidant effects. Another millet variety named “JK48” has strong free radical clearance and iron ion reduction capabilities.
Blood Sugar Regulation
Clinical experiments have shown that arabinoxylan can inhibit apoptosis of mouse pancreatic islet cells, promote insulin secretion, and reduce glucose intake. The gel-like property of arabinoxylan delays gastric emptying, increasing satiety and reducing carbohydrate intake.
Prebiotic
Arabinoxylan, as a prebiotic, promotes the proliferation of beneficial bacteria in the intestines, improving the quantity and structure of the gut microbiota. Unlike some oligosaccharides or polysaccharides that quickly degrade and cause discomfort, arabinoxylan is not digested and absorbed by the body’s enzyme system until it reaches the end of the intestine.
The arabinoxylan extract “Naxus” developed by BioActor acts as a prebiotic, promoting the production of short-chain fatty acids (SCFA), enhancing insulin sensitivity, inducing hormone production, and causing satiety.
Naxus selectively promotes the growth of beneficial bacteria like Bifidobacteria and Lactobacillus, and its long-chain structure avoids gastrointestinal symptoms when consumed at ≤15g per day.
Clinical trials conducted by BioActor on healthy adult males (BMI 20.0-24.9) for 21 days showed a significant reduction in calorie intake and weight loss in the group consuming Naxus and inulin mixture.
BioActor is currently advancing the development of Naxus in enhancing and customizing nutritional products.
Enhancing the Taste of Dough Products
Arabinoxylan as an Additive: As an additive, arabinoxylan, a dietary fiber, interacts with the main components of dough during the dough processing, affecting dough properties and the quality of baked goods.
Steamed Products
With increasing amounts of arabinoxylan, it interacts with starch, improving intermolecular cross-linking and orderly arrangement of starch molecules, increasing the hardness and chewiness of noodles. The suitable addition level is between 0.25% and 1.0%.
Baked Products
Arabinoxylan’s water-holding capacity and viscosity are closely related. During baking, it decomposes and releases moisture, keeping the dough moist during baking and slowing down starch gelatinization at high temperatures. It can also act as a sugar substitute for making low-sugar, low-energy, and high-fiber cookies.
Fried Products
During frying, water-extractable arabinoxylan (WEAX) can combine with gluten proteins through glycosylation reactions, enhancing the dough’s gas-holding capacity, increasing the volume, and oil content of fried foods, improving food quality to some extent.
The global variety of arabinoxylan products is gradually expanding.
In May 2023, Comet Bio, a food startup, opened a new production facility in Denmark for producing arabinoxylan dietary fiber, using crop residues such as corn stover, brewery grain waste, wheat straw, soybean hulls, and other agricultural residues to convert into arabinoxylan dietary fiber and cellulose ethanol, applied in gummy candies and carbonated beverages.
Finished products such as Delvix Garden’s “Rice Bran Arabinoxylan Nutritional Supplement Powder” use rice’s inner cell walls as the extraction source, free from soy, eggs, milk, gluten, and non-GMO ingredients, with arabinoxylan content ≥95%, supplementing daily dietary fiber needs and enhancing immunity.
Lane Innovative’s “Immune Modulation Supplement” uses arabinoxylan extracted from enzyme-modified rice bran hemicellulose, also containing amino acids extracted from Japanese seaweed (HAL), strengthening absorption effects.
In Asia, BioBran MGN-3 developed by Japanese pharmaceutical company Yamato Pharmaceutical is a rice bran-derived arabinoxylan compound, serving as a food supplement for individuals with sensitive stomachs, requiring high dietary fiber supplementation, and boosting resistance. The recommended daily dose is ≤500mg.
Currently, attention in the food industry towards arabinoxylan is mainly focused on extraction and purification. Further research is needed to explore the development of its functional characteristics and the relationship between structure and function to demonstrate more economic benefits in its applications in the food and cosmetics industries.
Reference
[1]SNCHEZ-BASTAＲDO N， ＲOMEＲO A， ALONSO E． Extraction of arabinoxylans from wheat bran using hydrothermal processes assisted by heterogeneous catalysts ［J］． Carbohydrate Polymers， 2017， 160: 143 － 152．
[2]Gill, S.K.; Rossi, M.; Bajka, B.; Whelan, K. Dietary fibre in gastrointestinal health and disease. Nat. Rev. Gastroenterol. Hepatol.2021, 18, 101–116.
[3]LI C F, CHEN G J, RAN C X, et al. Adlay starch-gluten composite gel: effects of adlay starch on rheological and structural properties of gluten gel to molecular and physico-chemical characteristics [J]. Food Chemistry, 2019, 289:121-129.
