COMPOSITION OF POLYDEXTROSE(R) BEFORE AND AFTER INTESTINAL DEGRADATION IN RATS

The alternative carbohydrate Polydextrose (R) was separated by gel permeation chromatography (GPC) with an aminomodified silicagel and by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) on a silver-charged cation exchanger. It has been proved that Polydextrose (R) contains about 32% oligomers with a degree of polymerization of up to four. Because of the great variability of binding types between the glucose monomers, a satisfactory chromatographic separation is not yet possible. The degradation of Polydextrose (R) in the small intestine of rats is an accidental event; there are no especially resistent molecules in this process. Within 3 h after oral administration, the spectrogram of high-and low-molecular fractions of Polydextrose (R) was not changed by digestion in the small intestine irrespective the visible decrease of glucose. Thus, this study gives new insights into the molecular composition of Polydextrose (R).