ABSTRACT
The experiments to increase the dietary fiber content of food-processing by-products were carried out for different reasons. Enzymatic treatments to modify the dietary fiber fraction itself is a demanding and delicate task. The principle to increase the dietary fiber content by removing digestible compounds is used in enzymatic-gravimetric fiber determination methods and in approaches to produce undigestible substrates for in vitro fermentation studies. The effect on bread quality was tested with different enzymatically treated dietary fiber sources. The high hydration capacities of dietary fiber components can make an incorporation of fiber sources into food products difficult. Dietary fiber sources may be utilized increasingly as starting materials for the production of functional ingredients or of flavor compounds by applying cell wall macerating enzymes to improve the extractability of specific compounds. The exclusion of undesired side activities enabling a better control of breakdown patterns could help to facilitate enzymatic modifications of such complex matrices as dietary fiber.
