The Non-Starch Polysaccharide Content of Mexican Foods

✍ Scribed by Claudia P. Sánchez-Castillo; Hans N. Englyst; Geoffrey J. Hudson; Jose J. Lara; Marı́a de Lourdes Solano; José L. Munguı́a; W.Philip T. James

• Publisher: Elsevier Science
• Year: 1999
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 159 KB
• Volume: 12
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0889-1575
• DOI: 10.1006/jfca.1999.0831

✦ Synopsis

We have extended our knowledge of the dietary "bre content of Mexican foods with the analysis of 22 cereal and cereal products, 30 raw vegetables, 21 cooked vegetables, 19 fruits, and 9 nuts and seeds, to complement those analyses already reported. When the data are combined with those from similar analyses, a total of 228 Mexican foods can now be included in the assessment of NSP intakes. The monosaccharide components of both the total and insoluble fractions of NSP were measured in each food, thus allowing estimates of the carbohydrate content of the soluble fraction. The impact of processing of cereals was very marked, often resulting in over a "ve-fold reduction in NSP. The constituent sugars of the NSP varied widely, with vegetables having a high galactose and uronic acid content, and pulses having an appreciable proportion of arabinose. The NSP content of the pulses used in urban areas is only half of the NSP content of those used in the rural areas. The reported data illustrate the importance of measuring the detailed composition of foods when attempting to understand the implications of the major changes in dietary intake as Mexico goes through its rapid transition in food habits.