Plant seed mucilage as emerging biopolymer in food industry applications
Abstract
The demand for sustainable, eco-green and minimally processed food ingredients of innate technological (structuring, texturising, stabilising) and functional potential is on the growth. Plant seed mucilage (PSM) constitutes a polysaccharide hydrocolloid of particular physicochemical and structure conformational diversity which endows a broad range of functional and health relevant aspects. Many studies have demonstrated the peculiar structuring and stabilising role of crude and fractionated PSM in model and real food matrices. In addition, PSMs intake through the orogastrointestinal route has been associated with several health benefits such as modulation of postprandial glycaemic and insulinaemic response, hyperlipidaemia counteracting, satiety enhancement, regulation of gut microbiota function. This concise review discusses the most recent advancements in the field of PSM extraction and characterisation as well as their exploitation as alternative hydrocolloids for food and nutraceutical industry applications.