BY LAURA BURNETT SPARK PROGRAM
Soluble fibre’s many health and nutritional benefits have long been recognized, but the real challenge is finding ways to incorporate it into everyday diets. Prof. Doug Goff, Food Science, is leading a research team to assess soluble fibre sources that could be added to a person’s diet to improve health and nutrition. They’re also evaluating untapped soluble fibre sources produced from Ontario agricultural commodities such as soybeans and flaxseed. “We hope to generate information that helps the food industry formulate foods rich in soluble fibre,” says Goff. Soluble fibre is just one example of a polysaccharide, a complex carbohydrate made up of multiple sugar compounds. It’s naturally present in plant-derived products such as pectin, gums and mucilage. There’s also soluble fibre in oats and various fruits and vegetables, but only in small amounts. Soluble fibre intake has been linked to lower cholesterol and decreased risk of heart disease and cancer. Goff’s research is designed to find ways to increase the concentration of soluble fibre in certain foods so consumers can experience the health benefits of ingesting more fibre. Increasing dietary soluble fibre also means searching for it in foods that haven’t been used for this purpose before, he says. For example, flaxseed gum is high in soluble fibre. During the milling of flaxseed, the hulls are removed and discarded, but it’s been found that significant amounts of soluble fibre can be extracted from the hulls, adding value to that waste product. The research project consists of four sub- projects, all involving U of G food scientists. The first component, led by Goff, post-doctoral researcher François Capel and Steve Cui of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, is examining the molecular structure and functional properties of selected polysaccharides. Prof. Douglas Dalgleish and post-doctoral researcher Anneke Martin lead the second sub- project, which focuses on polysaccharides’ interactions with protein. They want to determine how soluble fibre behaves in real food systems and whether fortification of different foods with soluble fibre would have a negative impact on food structure. The third subproject, headed by Prof. Milena Corredig and graduate student Ingrid Ayala-Hernandez, aims to discover more about polysaccharides with microbial origins. For example, some bacterial cultures used to make yogurt produce polysaccharides, and the researchers want to know if they have any functional and nutritional properties. The project’s fourth component, which has yet to begin, will examine the sensory aspects of adding polysaccharides to foods. Prof. Chris Findlay will lead this subproject, evaluating how the addition of soluble fibre to food affects its taste, texture and other sensory properties. Goff hopes the food industry will apply the data generated from this work to formulate soluble fibre-rich foods. He notes that farmers and consumers will also gain from this research. Finding novel uses for Ontario agricultural commodities — especially low-value products — benefits producers because most soluble fibre ingredients are currently imported. And consumers can experience the added health benefits of increasing their intake of soluble fibre. The four-year research project, which began last September, is funded by the food program of the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food.
