Fibrex, produced by Nordic Sugar, is produced by a clean drying process.
Building on previous research, the Serbian research team compared it with treated sugar beet fibre (TF) that had been extracted with sulphurous acid and treated with hydrogen peroxide.
Earlier research, said the authors, indicated that the particle size and colourless and odourless properties of sugar beet fibre make it a ‘promising ingredient’ in the formulation of cookies.
The Serbian team’s findings, published in the journal Sugar Industry, indicate that the substitution of wheat flour with commercially available Fibrex in cookie formulation upgraded the antioxidant activity and could prolong their shelf life.
There was no impact on the shelf life of cookies produced with the hydrogen peroxide treated fibre, observed the team.
“The better antioxidant activities of Fibrex-enriched cookies could be attributed to the presence of ferulic acid,” concluded the researchers.
R&D work
Nordic Sugar said that prior to the outcome of this research, it had not been aware of the antioxidant properties of Fibrex.
Anneli Martensson, a spokesperson for the company, told BakeryandSnacks.com that its R&D team would collaborate with its bakery customers on establishing how much dosage of Fibrex would be required per product to generate the antioxidant benefits.
The study
The cookies were prepared by the addition of 0, 7, 9 and 11 per cent of sugar beet dietary fibre as a substitute for wheat flour in the product, and the antioxidant properties of the cookies were tested every seven days using a DPPH (1,1-diphe-nyl-2-picrylhydrazyl-) radical scavenging activity test during 6 weeks of storage at room temperature (23 ± 1°).
And the Serbian team point out that previous studies in the literature have demonstrated that sugar beet dietary fibres were good sources of antioxidants.
“Ferulic, gentisic and p-coumaric acid have been identified and reported to be predominant phenolic acids in the ethanolic extract of sugar beet pulp and have proved to be relative potent antioxidants,” they observed.
Dosage levels in baked goods
Martensson said that the dosage level of the sugar beet derived ingredient in baked goods varies depending on type of product and what a manufacturer wants to achieve.
“With Fibrex, you will have both fibre enrichment and a benefit like soft-holding if it is a soft baked product,” said the Nordic Sugar spokesperson.
“In a dry baked product such as biscuits, we have customers using our product to lower waste and get a cleaner break.
In a wholemeal, brown type of bread, a higher dosage of 3 to 4 per cent (based on flour quantity) is recommended. In white, pure wheat based bread, a lower percentage of 1 to 2 per cent is suitable,” added Martensson.
Source: Sugar Industry
Sugar Industry 2011 Vol. 136, pp. 151-157
Title: Antioxidant activity of cookies supplemented with sugar beet dietary fibre
Authors: Sakač, M.; Gyura, J.; Mišan, A.; Šereš, Z.; Pajin, B.