Polysaccharides Carbohydrates that pectins

The other carbohydrates in cane juice are the soluble polysaccharides vaguely classified under the terms "hemi-celluloses, soluble gums and pectins. It is possible that some of these polysaccharides may enter the juice during the milling of the cane as the plant cell structure is destroyed. A gummy product has been isolated from cane fiber by alkali extraction followed by alcohol precipitation. Acid hydrolysis of this substance yielded crystalline D-xylose and L-arabinose.10 Such gums in Trinidad cane juices were isolated by alcohol precipitation at suitable hydrogen ion concentration and assayed for pentose content by the Tollens 2-fural-dehyde assay the results showed an apparent pentosan content of 0.04-0.07%u of the Brix solids. 

The major kinds of digestible carbohydrates in foods are the simple sugars (glucose and fructose), disaccharides (sucrose, maltose, and lactose), and polysaccharides (amylose and amylopectin in starch from plants, and glycogen from meat). The indigestible carbohydrates include cellulose and its derivatives, pectin (the substance that makes jam and jelly gel), and plant gums. 

In recent years, soy products such as soy whole flour (SF), soy protein concentrate (SPC), and soy protein isolate (SPI) have been considered as alternatives to petroleum polymers because of their abundance, low cost, perfect adhesion, and good biodegradability (Maruthi et al. 2014). SF contains about 40-60 % protein, combined with fats and carbohydrates. Soy protein concentrate contains about 60-70 % protein. SPI contains more than 90 % of protein and is the most widely used soybean product for film processing (Ciannamea et al. 2014). Moreover, SPI-based films are clearer, smoother, and more flexible compared to other plant protein-based films, and they have impressive gas barrier properties compared to those prepared from lipids and polysaccharides. When SPI films are not moist, their O2 permeability was 500, 260, 540, and 670 times lower than that of films based on low-density polyethylene, methylceUulose, starch, and pectin, respectively (Song et al. 2011). Thus, in addition to their large availability, soy protein-based materials have interesting barrier and release properties ideal for packaging applications. 

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