Polydextrose

Products Description:

Polydextrose  is normally utilized as a sucrose replacement in conjunction with high inten-sity sweeteners such as sucralose or aspartame .  It is used effectively as a low caloriebulking agent in foods such as ice cream, hard and chewy candies, nutrition and supplement bars, and beverages.[Recently polydextrose has been formulated into many reduced carbohydrate products in as much as polydextroseis water soluble, resistant to digestion in the human small intestinal tract, but partially fermented in the large in-testine leading to physiological effects consistent with soluble dietary fibers.]  Polydextrose has 1 kcal/gram asopposed to normally digested carbohydrates which have 4 kcal/gram

Chemistry

Polydextrose is described in its Foods Chemicals Codex (FCC) Monograph as a randomly bonded (the 1,6-glyco-sidic linkage predominates) condensation polymer of D-glucose, sorbitol, and citric acid.  Commercial polydex-trose also contains small amounts of free glucose, sorbitol, citric acid, and 1,6-anhydro-D-glucose (levoglucosan).
Polydextrose has a broad molecular weight range (162 to 20,000) with 90% of the molecules being between 504 and 5,000 mw.  The average degree of polymerization is 12: average molecular weight of approximately 2000.

Nutrition Information

Polydextrose resists digestion and absorption in the small intestine, is partially fermented in the large intestine, with a substantial remainder excreted in the feces as shown in several studies demonstrating physiologic effects consistent with those of dietary fiber.  Partial fermentation in the large intestine, leads to increased fecal bulk, reduced transit time, softer stools, and lower fecal pH.  Fermentation of polydextrose also leads to the increased growth of favorable microflora, diminished proportions of putrefactive microflora, enhanced production of short-chain fatty acids and suppressed production of carcinogenic metabolites (e.g. indole and p-cresol).