Abstract

The glycemic carbohydrates we consume are currently viewed in an unfavorable light in both the consumer and medical research worlds. In significant part, these carbohydrates, mainly starch and sucrose, are looked upon negatively due to their rapid and abrupt glucose delivery to the body which causes a high glycemic response. However, dietary carbohydrates which are digested and release glucose in a slow manner are recognized as providing health benefits. Slow digestion of glycemic carbohydrates can be caused by several factors, including food matrix effect which impedes α-amylase access to substrate, or partial inhibition by plant secondary metabolites such as phenolic compounds. Differences in digestion rate of these carbohydrates may also be due to their specific structures (e.g. variations in degree of branching and/or glycosidic linkages present). In recent years, much has been learned about the synthesis and digestion kinetics of novel α-glucans (i.e. small oligosaccharides or larger polysaccharides based on glucose units linked in different positions by α-bonds). It is the synthesis and digestion of such structures that is the subject of this review.

抽象的

目前，在消费和医学研究领域，我们消耗的血糖碳水化合物都受到不利的影响。在很大程度上，这些碳水化合物，主要是淀粉和蔗糖，由于它们快速而突然地将葡萄糖输送到体内而引起高血糖反应，因此受到负面的关注。然而，被消化并以缓慢方式释放葡萄糖的饮食碳水化合物被认为具有健康益处。糖类碳水化合物的缓慢消化可能是由多种因素引起的，包括阻碍α-淀粉酶接近底物的食物基质效应，或植物次生代谢产物（如酚类化合物）的部分抑制作用。这些碳水化合物的消化率差异也可能是由于它们的特定结构（例如 分支和/或糖苷键存在程度的差异）。近年来，关于新型α-葡聚糖（即，基于通过α-键在不同位置连接的葡萄糖单元的小寡糖或大多糖）的合成和消化动力学已经学到了很多。这种结构的合成和消化是本综述的主题。