Summary Arabinoxylans and in particular arabinoxylan oligosaccharides (AXOS) from wheat are recognised for their prebiotic potential. A high‐yield, non‐chemical production of AXOS is therefore of interest when producing functional foods. This study investigated the enzymatic production of AXOS from wheat bran with the aim of establishing the main fraction contributing to production of AXOS. Fractions of wheat bran, outer pericarp and aleurone with two different purities were treated with the cell wall‐degrading enzymes: xylanase, cellulase and β‐glucanase. The yield of solubilised arabinoxylans upon treatment was greatest in the most pure aleurone fraction (164 g kg−1) and lowest in the outer pericarp fraction (15 g kg−1). The yield was mainly recovered as AXOS rather than soluble arabinoxylans and was negatively related to the arabinose/xylose ratio found in the raw material. In conclusion, wheat aleurone cell walls are the main contributor to the production of AXOS from wheat bran and this seems to depend on the A/X ratio of the raw material.

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BACKGROUND Cereal co‐products rich in dietary fibres are increasingly used in animal feed. The high fibre content decreases the digestibility and reduces the nutrient and energy availability, resulting in lower nutritive value. Therefore, this study investigated the ability of two carbohydrase complexes to solubilize cell‐wall polysaccharides, in particular arabinoxylan (AX), from different cereal fractions of wheat, maize, and rice using an in vitro digestion model of the pig gastric and small intestinal digestive system. The first complex (NSPase 1) was rich in cell‐wall‐degrading enzymes, whereas the second complex (NSPase 2) was additionally enriched with xylanases and arabinofuranosidases. The extent of solubilization of insoluble cell‐wall polysaccharides after in vitro digestion was evaluated with gas–liquid chromatography and an enzymatic fingerprint of the AX oligosaccharides was obtained with high‐performance anion‐exchange chromatography with pulsed amperometric detection. RESULTS The addition of carbohydrase increased the digestibility of dry matter and solubilized AX in particular, with the greatest effect in wheat fractions and less effect in maize and rice fractions. The solubilization of AX (expressed as xylose release) ranged from 6% to 41%, and there was an increased effect when enriching with xylanases and arabinofuranosidases in wheat aleurone and bran of 19% and 14% respectively. The enzymatic fingerprint of AX oligosaccharides revealed several non‐final hydrolysis products of the enzymes applied, indicating that the hydrolysis of AX was not completed during in vitro digestion. CONCLUSION These results indicate that the addition of a carbohydrase complex can introduce structural alterations under in vitro digestion conditions, and that enrichment with additional xylanases and arabinofuranosidases can boost this effect in wheat, maize, and rice. © 2020 Society of Chemical Industry

The relationship between in vitro and in vivo starch digestion kinetics was studied in portal vein catheterised pigs fed breads varying in dietary fibre (DF) content and composition. The breads were a low DF white wheat bread, two high DF whole grain rye breads without and with whole kernels and two experimental breads with added arabinoxylan or oat β-glucan concentrates, respectively. In vitro, samples were collected at 0, 5, 10, 15, 30, 60, 120 and 180 min and the cumulative hydrolysis curve for starch was modelled, whereas the in vivo cumulative absorption models for starch were based on samples taken every 15 min up to 60 min and then every 30 min up to 240 min. The starch hydrolysis rate in vitro (0.07 to 0.16%/min) was far higher than the rate of glucose appearance in vivo (0.017 to 0.023% absorbed starch/min). However, the ranking of the breads was the same in vitro and in vivo and there was a strong relationship between the kinetic parameters.

The high fiber content of cereal coproducts used in animal feed reduces the digestibility and nutrient availability. Therefore, the aim of this study was to elucidate the ability of two carbohydrase complexes to degrade the cell wall of wheat, maize, and rice during in vitro digestion. One complex was rich in cell-wall-degrading enzymes (NSPase 1), and the other was similar but additionally enriched with xylanases and arabinofuranosidases (NSPase 2). Degradation of arabinoxylan, the main cereal cell wall polysaccharide, was followed directly by gas–liquid chromatography (GLC) and indirectly through phenolic acid liberation as quantified by liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (LC–MS/MS). The effect was additionally visualized using a unique multispectral autofluorescence approach. Wheat fractions, in particular aleurone, were susceptible to degradation as judged from the redistribution of arabinoxylan (25% reduction in insoluble arabinoxylan), whereas the highest relative liberation of ferulic acid was observed in rice bran (6%). All cereal fractions, except for maize, had a higher release of ferulic acid with NSPase 2 than NSPase 1 (38% in rice and wheat bran, 30% in wheat whole grain, and 28% in wheat aleurone). Thus, the carbohydrase complexes were able to degrade important cell wall components during in vitro digestion but apparently through different mechanisms in wheat, maize, and rice.