Functional sugar includes functional oligosaccharide, functional dietary fiber and functional sugar alcohol. Among them, functional oligosaccharides refer to functional sugars that can improve human health to some extent, and are mostly low-degree polymeric sugars formed by connecting 2 ~ 10 monosaccharides through glycosidic bonds. Not all oligosaccharides become functional sugars. Oligosaccharides are called functional sugars only when they are not digested and absorbed by human gastrointestinal tract and directly enter the large intestine and are used by Bifidobacterium. Because there is no enzyme system to hydrolyze them (except isomaltulose) in human intestine, they are not digested and absorbed but directly enter the large intestine. This characteristic makes them preferentially used by Bifidobacterium, which is the proliferation factor of intestinal beneficial bacteria, also known as prebiotics. These functional sugars mainly include xylooligosaccharides (xylooligosaccharides), fructooligosaccharides (fructooligosaccharides), stachyose, galactooligosaccharides, isomaltooligosaccharides, soybean oligosaccharides and so on. Functional sugars are mostly sugars made from hemicellulose-rich substances such as corncob, bagasse and wheat straw by acid method, acid enzyme method or enzyme method, such as xylooligosaccharide; Or sugars made from some starch sugars by acid method, acid enzyme method or enzyme method, such as isomaltooligosaccharide. Functional sugar is a new word in recent years, which was first introduced into China from Japan. In recent years, the state has vigorously supported and promoted functional sugar. Functional dietary fiber is a kind of high molecular carbohydrate. Because it can't be normally digested and absorbed by human body, it has no nutritional value. But because it can't be digested, it can slow down the digestion speed, excrete cholesterol as quickly as possible, control blood sugar and cholesterol above the ideal level, and help diabetic patients reduce insulin and triglycerides.

Classification of functional sugars

Functional sugar alcohols mainly include sorbitol, maltitol, xylitol, erythritol and isomaltulose. With the increase of type 2 diabetes in China, sugar alcohol, a substitute for common sugar, is used more and more. Because sugar alcohol does not cause a significant increase in insulin in the body, it is added to many foods that need sweetness but must be sugar-free. The characteristics of sugar alcohols, such as prebiotics, low energy, hypoglycemia, insulin response, etc., are of positive significance for improving the healthy quality of food and preventing the occurrence and development of chronic diseases. In order to promote the development of healthy functional food, many products are recommended as "nutrition and health promotion products" by the National Center for Public Nutrition and Development. By the end of the Tenth Five-Year Plan, due to the rapid technological progress of functional sugar industry, the output and quality were obviously improved and the material consumption was reduced. With the intensive and large-scale operation of enterprises, the cost of functional sugar products has dropped significantly, and the market of functional sugar has gradually expanded, becoming an important additive of functional food, especially in dairy industry, health care industry, beverage industry and sugar-free functional food industry. With the in-depth research on the function of functional sugar, it has been proved that functional sugar is widely used in feed industry and can replace some antibiotics to promote the growth and development of animals. At present, some enterprises have developed functional sugar into functional feed additives.

Edit the main functions of functional sugar in this section.

Improve the function of intestinal flora

Bifidobacterium was first isolated from the feces of healthy breast-fed infants in 1899 by Dr. Tissier of Pasteur Institute in France. After more than 30 years of research, researchers in Japan and other European countries have gradually discovered the beneficial effects of Bifidobacterium on human body, which has become one of the signs to measure the health status and evaluate the functional food to improve the gastrointestinal flora. Functional sugar can make Bifidobacterium and Lactobacillus proliferate, while Clostridium perfringens is inhibited or not proliferated, that is, Escherichia coli or enterococcus and Bacteroides do not proliferate or the proliferation range is lower than that of Bifidobacterium or Lactobacillus, so it can be considered that it has a certain function of regulating gastrointestinal flora. After ingesting functional sugar, the number of bifidobacteria in the intestine can increase hundreds of times. Bifidobacterium can not only inhibit the reproduction of bacteria, but also reduce or even completely eliminate spoilage bacteria such as Clostridium. When amino acids are segmented, spoilage bacteria will produce harmful substances such as ammonia, amine, hydrogen sulfide, indole and phenol, which is one of the many reasons that cause harm to human health. Functional sugar can effectively promote the reproduction of Bifidobacterium. Bifidobacterium not only does not produce harmful substances, but also produces organic acids such as acetic acid and lactic acid after metabolism, which can reduce intestinal pH, improve endogenous lysozyme activity and inhibit the reproduction of pathogenic bacteria or spoilage bacteria such as Escherichia coli and Clostridium. In addition, Bifidobacterium can also produce vitamins, such as vitamin B 1, vitamin B2, vitamin B6, folic acid, etc., which play a role in maintaining human health.

purge

Commonly used substances with laxative effect include dietary fiber, sugar alcohol, microecological agents and so on. Dietary fiber can not be absorbed by human body, but it can be partially decomposed and fermented by intestinal flora to produce organic acids, reduce intestinal pH value and stimulate intestinal mucosal peristalsis. The food residue formed by undigested dietary fiber can change the characteristics of feces, stimulate colon movement and promote defecation. In addition, water-soluble dietary fiber can be used by bacteria and can keep moisture in feces. Functional sugar can't be digested and absorbed in human body, which belongs to water-soluble dietary fiber and has low molecular weight. It can be used to dilute feces and relieve constipation. Its physiological function is completely derived from its unique fermentation characteristics (Bifidobacterium proliferation characteristics). The advantage of functional sugar over dietary fiber is that the daily demand is small and it will not cause diarrhea within the recommended amount. It has certain sweetness and good sweetness characteristics, is easily soluble in water, does not increase the viscosity of the product, has stable physical properties, and is easy to be added to processed foods and beverages.

Enhance immunity

A large number of animal experiments show that Bifidobacterium can play an anti-cancer role by breeding in the intestine. This anti-cancer effect is attributed to the cells, cell wall components and extracellular secretions of Bifidobacterium, which improves the immunity of the body. For example, sterile mice fed with Bifidobacterium colonization single factor live longer than untreated sterile mice. Functional sugar has the function of relaxing bowels, inhibiting intestinal spoilage bacteria, significantly reducing spoilage products and discharging them in time, thus reducing the occurrence of colorectal cancer.

Promote the absorption of minerals

Studies have shown that functional sugar has the ability to intercept mineral elements such as calcium, magnesium, iron and zinc. Functional sugar cannot be decomposed by digestive enzymes. After reaching the large intestine, mineral ions are released as functional sugar is fermented and decomposed by Bifidobacterium. As we all know, the second half of the digestive tract, such as cecum and colon, is an important place to absorb mineral elements. In addition, the short-chain fatty acids produced by Bifidobacterium fermentation of functional sugar reduce the intestinal pH, and in acidic environment, the dissolution rate of many minerals increases, which is beneficial to absorption. Because short-chain fatty acids can stimulate the growth of colon membrane cells and improve the absorption capacity of minerals.

Anti-caries

Functional sugar generally has no adverse effects on teeth. Dental caries are mainly caused by oral microorganisms, especially Streptococcus mutans, which use sucrose to produce acids, especially lactic acid and water-insoluble β -glucan Functional sugar can not be the substrate of the above oral microorganisms, and it has no bacterial coagulation, so it will not cause dental caries.

Lowering blood lipid

A large number of human experiments have confirmed that the intake of functional sugar can reduce the serum cholesterol level. Taking a certain amount of functional sugar every day for 2 weeks to 3 months can reduce serum total cholesterol by 20 ~ 50 mg/dl. Lactic bacteria, including Bifidobacterium and its fermented dairy products, can reduce the level of serum total cholesterol and increase the proportion of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol in female serum. The decrease of serum cholesterol level is considered to be the result of the change of intestinal microbial flora balance. In vitro experiments also showed that 12 strains of Lactobacillus acidophilus in human intestine could absorb cholesterol, and Lactobacillus acidophilus could inhibit the absorption of cholesterol by small intestinal wall. The ability of Bifidobacterium to metabolize nicotinic acid is also related to the decrease of serum cholesterol level. Bifidobacterium can control the newly formed low density lipoprotein receptor by inhibiting activated T cells in human body, thus reducing serum cholesterol. The experimental results in mice show that Bifidobacterium can control the synthesis of cholesterol by affecting the activity of β-hydroxy-β-methylglutaryl-CoA reductase, thus reducing the serum cholesterol content.

Unique properties of functional sugar

1, highly selective proliferation of Bifidobacterium 2, good thermal acid stability 3, difficult to be decomposed by human digestive enzymes 4, low sweetness and low calorie.

Edit this functional candy to open the market quickly.

expand the market

On September 29th, 2005, Yucheng was awarded the title of "China Functional Sugar City" by China National Light Industry Federation, becoming the only "Functional Sugar City" in China. With the expansion of the consumption field, China's functional sugar industry has made remarkable progress, developing towards multi-variety, personalization, specialization, functionalization and scale, with a substantial increase in output and an increasingly perfect variety structure. Mankind will usher in a new era of functional sugar. Functional candy is a new category developed on the basis of traditional candy. In the reporter's interview, people in the industry also gave some different answers to the definition of functional candy. For example, Chen Weihui, a marketing expert of Xiamen Falcons, believes that functional candy should be "candy with external additional characteristics greater than the characteristics of candy itself". In other words, the focus of candy appeal is not on itself, but on the characteristics other than sugar. JamesDedman, the world's leading food ingredient manufacturer, said in an interview with this reporter that the international definition of functional candy is: "In addition to meeting people's most basic calorie needs, it also brings candy with additional functions such as moistening throat and supplementing vitamins. Low-sugar or sugar-free healthy candy is also a functional candy. " This definition makes the scope of functional candy wider. But in any case, functional candy can be regarded as a sudden emergence of the domestic candy industry in recent years, which quickly opened the market door. According to the analysis of the National Bureau of Statistics in 2004, the market share of functional candy will exceed that of traditional candy in five years.

Vitamins and xylitol stimulate the functional candy market.

When it comes to the rise of functional candy in China, we can't help but say Yake V9. In 2003, after people just experienced a panic of SARS, the concept of vitamin supplementation was deeply rooted in people's hearts. At that time, the little-known Yake launched V9, which quickly won the favor of consumers with the appeal of "two tablets of V9 to supplement daily vitamins". From the popularity of investment promotion to the growth rate of early sales, it created a miracle in the candy industry, with sales exceeding 200 million that year. Until Yake's success attracted many candy companies to follow suit, even Unakang, one of the production bases of antibiotics and vitamins, launched a vitamin C health food-Guo Weikang in 2005. Indeed, in just four years, vitamin candy has developed into the fifth largest category of candy industry in China. In addition to vitamins, xylitol is also an indispensable keyword for functional candy. With the strengthening of people's health awareness, urban residents began to consciously control their sugar intake and maintain a healthy body. In particular, women regard sugar as a scourge to maintain their bodies, and these consumers are the target groups in the candy market, so xylitol products came into being. This trend began with gum sugar, and began with internationally renowned enterprises such as Lotte, Haoliyou and Wrigley, which quickly swept the whole industry. Domestic brands such as Yake Didadi also locked their functions in "sugar-free" and "dental caries prevention". At one time, the whole gum sugar industry had a thorough "xylitol revolution", and the sales volume increased very strongly, accounting for only 5% of 200 1 year. Now, the concept of sugar-free has spread to the whole candy industry. In addition to chewing gum candy, hard candy, soft candy and even chocolate have also begun to cater to this "sugar-free" trend. The gradual rise of functional candy has brought a certain impact to the traditional candy industry. In 1990s, the sales volume of cylindrical toffee in monopoly market has been shrinking year by year, and the hard toffee market has also stagnated, and the sales volume largely depends on the wedding and festival markets. In addition to vitamins and xylitol, more functional candies are constantly being created, such as candy for clearing and moistening throat, candy with tea polyphenols, and even "Rhodiola candy" which can cope with altitude sickness. Wu Weidong, general manager of Fujian Everest Food Company, told the reporter that they have jointly developed candy containing rhodiola extract with the Institute of Tibetan Medicine, which is mainly sold to travelers on the plateau, and they also found many beneficial ingredients in Tibetan medicine that can be added to candy. Who can predict that the next V9 will not appear in these new products?