Keywords

soluble fiber, insoluble fiber, nonstarch polysaccharide, broiler

Abstract

Fiber, although a simple five letter word, is like an onion. It is only once you begin to peel back the layers that you discover the complexity within. As nutritionists we are used to thinking in terms of ‘crude fiber’, but as we move into a world without antibiotics and the need to sometimes select alternative ingredients, we are now beginning to separate fiber into its chemical components and functional properties. To understand the functional properties, such as solubility and fermentability, we first need to ensure we can accurately measure the chemical composition of fiber for a wide variety of ingredients. This paper will review the methods used to analyze the different components of fiber, introduce a new database developed to measure Non-Starch Polysaccharides (NSP) and discuss profiles of ingredients, so that we can gain a better understanding of fiber moving forward.

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