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The Nonstarch Polysaccharides in Mexican Pulses and Cereal Products

1994; Elsevier BV; Volume: 7; Issue: 4 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1006/jfca.1994.1029

1096-0481

Claudia P Sánchez-Castillo, P. J. S. Dewey, Marı́a de Lourdes Solano, Maureen Tucker, W. P. T. James,

Food composition and properties

Seventy-one samples of Mexican foodstuffs (cereal products and pulses) of both rural and urban origin were analyzed for their nonstarch polysaccharide (NSP) content. Analyses of the constituent monosaccharides in the NSP were also undertaken. Rural and urban data for the same products were obtained when their likely composition depended on local preparation rather than on factory processing. Pulses, e.g., beans, broadbeans, chickpeas, and lentils, contained higher amounts of total NSP than cereals, and a greater proportion was in the form of soluble NSP. Maize had three to eight times the NSP content of refined wheat or rice as well as substantially higher contents of arabinose and xylose and higher total insoluble NSP than the whole wheat flour. Snacks, bread, and biscuits all had low NSP values, reflecting the use of refined cereal products in their manufacture. The data clearly indicate the importance of specifying in some detail the type of bread, breakfast cereal, beans, or snacks if the NSP content of the product is to be estimated. Marked differences in the NSP content of tortillas were found in the rural area (8.3 g/100 g dry matter (DM) NSP) compared with tortillas in Mexico City (6.5 g/100 g DM NSP). Given the rapid economic, social, and dietary changes now underway in Mexico, these data highlight the importance of monitoring the changing composition of foodstuffs as urbanization and development alter food habits.