Dietary fibers fractionated from gardenia (Gardenia jasminoides Ellis) husk: structure and in vitro hypoglycemic effect.

BACKGROUND

Gardenia (Gardenia jasminoides Ellis) husk rich in dietary fiber is a byproduct of fructus processing, and commonly discarded as waste. The husk was fractionated by sequential extraction into four fractions: water-soluble fiber (W-SF), acid-soluble fiber (Ac-SF), alkali-soluble fiber (Al-SF) and insoluble residue fiber (IRF). The aim of this study was to investigate the differences in structure and in vitro hypoglycemic effect of these fibers.

RESULTS

Monosaccharide composition and Fourier transform infrared spectra showed that the major component might be pectin for W-SF and Ac-SF, xylan as well as pectin for Al-SF and cellulose for IRF. These fibers offered excellent water-holding capacity and swelling capacity, except that IRF was only slightly swellable in water. W-SF exhibited significantly higher capacities to adsorb glucose (2.408 mmol g at a glucose concentration of 200 mmol L ) and inhibit α-amylase activity (29.48-49.45% inhibition rate at a concentration of 4-8 mg mL ), probably caused by the higher viscosity and hydration properties; while Ac-SF, Al-SF and IRF (especially Al-SF) were more effective in retarding the glucose diffusion across a dialysis membrane (34.97-41.67% at 20-30 min), which might be attributed to particle size and specific surface area. All the fibers could quench the intrinsic fluorescence of α-amylase to some degree.

CONCLUSIONS

Dietary fiber from gardenia husk, especially W-SF, can be used as a potential hypoglycemic ingredient in diabetic functional foods. © 2020 Society of Chemical Industry.