What is Soy Dietary Fiber? Definition and Benefits

Soybean dietary fiber mainly refers to the general term for those macromolecular sugars in soybeans that cannot be digested by human digestive enzymes, mainly including cellulose, pectin, xylan, mannose, etc. Although dietary fiber does not provide any nutrients to the human body, it has an important role.

What Is Soy Dietary Fiber?

Soy Fiber is a unique, pleasant tasting, fiber product made from the cell wall fiber and protein of the soybean cotyledon. This combination of fiber and protein gives this product excellent water absorbing and moisture migration control properties. Made from Non-GMO soybeans using an organically approved process.

Benefits of Soy Dietary Fiber

1. Dietary fiber can delay sugar absorption, inhibit blood sugar spikes, and reduce insulin secretion, offering significant prevention against diabetes.

2. It helps block the absorption of neutral fats and cholesterol, effectively lowering blood cholesterol levels. Additionally, dietary fiber can absorb sodium salts, preventing their absorption in the intestines and thus lowering blood pressure.

3. Dietary fiber promotes intestinal peristalsis, preventing constipation and reducing the risk of colon cancer.

4. The hydration of dietary fiber increases satiety, slows down nutrient absorption in the small intestine, and effectively aids in preventing obesity.

As a result, dietary fiber is recognized as the “seventh largest nutrient” by medical and nutrition experts, playing a crucial role in preventing lifestyle-related diseases like hypertension, coronary heart disease, and obesity.

Soybean dietary fiber is a complex mixture that can be classified into two categories based on its solubility characteristics: water-soluble dietary fiber (SDF) and water-insoluble dietary fiber (IDF). While the basic composition of soybean dietary fiber is similar to that of other sources like wheat bran fiber and rice bran fiber, the relative content of each component, the molecular glycosidic bonds, degree of polymerization, and branching structure differ significantly. These factors influence the physicochemical properties of the fiber and affect its nutritional and functional benefits in the human body.

Soybean dietary fiber consists of cellulose, hemicellulose, pectin and pectin-like substances, glycoproteins, and lignin. The cellulose in soybean dietary fiber is a polymer made up of β-glucopyranosyl groups connected by β(1→4) glycosidic bonds. Hemicellulose in soybean fiber includes arabinoxylan, xyloglucan, galactomannan, and β(1→3, 1→4)-glucan.

Pectin is primarily composed of polygalacturonic acid linked by α(1→4) glycosidic bonds, with the main chain containing (1→2) rhamnose residues. Some galacturonic acid residues in pectin are often methyl esterified. Pectin-like substances are mainly made up of arabinan, galactan, or arabinogalactan, where arabinan consists of arabinofuranoses connected by (1→5) glycosidic bonds, with occasional branches at C2 or C3. The carbohydrate portion of the glycoprotein in soybean dietary fiber is arabinogalactan. Soybean lignin is a macromolecular compound made up of pine alcohol, sinapyl alcohol, and p-hydroxycinnamyl alcohol.