Potential of Wood Hemicelluloses and Their Derivates as Food Ingredients
Review article, 2023

A holistic utilization of all lignocellulosic wood biomass, instead of the current approach of using only the cellulose fraction, is crucial for the efficient, ecological, and economical use of the forest resources. Use of wood constituents in the food and feed sector is a potential way of promoting the global economy. However, industrially established food products utilizing such components are still scarce, with the exception of cellulose derivatives. Hemicelluloses that include xylans and mannans are major constituents of wood. The wood hemicelluloses are structurally similar to hemicelluloses from crops, which are included in our diet, for example, as a part of dietary fibers. Hence, structurally similar wood hemicelluloses have the potential for similar uses. We review the current status and future potential of wood hemicelluloses as food ingredients. We include an inventory of the extraction routes of wood hemicelluloses, their physicochemical properties, and some of their gastrointestinal characteristics, and we also consider the regulatory route that research findings need to follow to be approved for food solutions, as well as the current status of the wood hemicellulose applications on that route.

mannans

emulsions

xylans

novel foods

Author

Felix Abik

University of Helsinki

Chonnipa Palasingh

Chalmers, Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Applied Chemistry

Mamata Bhattarai

University of Helsinki

Aalto University

Shaun Leivers

Norwegian University of Life Sciences

Anna Ström

Chalmers, Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Applied Chemistry

Bjørge Westereng

Norwegian University of Life Sciences

Kirsi S. Mikkonen

University of Helsinki

Tiina Nypelö

Chalmers, Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Applied Chemistry

Aalto University

Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry

0021-8561 (ISSN) 1520-5118 (eISSN)

Vol. 71 6 2667-2683

Liberation and solution properties of wood hemicelluloses towards surface active molecules (HEMISURF).

Nordic Forest Research (SNS) (HEMISURF), 2019-01-01 -- 2021-12-31.

Oxiderad hemicellulosa för filmer och geler

Swedish Research Council (VR) (2017-05138), 2018-01-01 -- 2021-12-31.

Subject Categories

Polymer Technologies

Other Environmental Engineering

Composite Science and Engineering

DOI

10.1021/acs.jafc.2c06449

PubMed

36724217

More information

Latest update

3/15/2023