WO2019092738A1

WO2019092738A1 - Improved insoluble dietary fiber ingredient

Info

Publication number: WO2019092738A1
Application number: PCT/IN2018/050710
Authority: WO
Inventors: Chitra Vasant Savangikar; Vasant Anantrao Savangikar
Original assignee: Chitra Vasant Savangikar; Vasant Anantrao Savangikar
Priority date: 2017-11-13
Filing date: 2018-11-01
Publication date: 2019-05-16

Abstract

A composition is disclosed for dietary fiber supplementation, wherein the composition is a dry powder comprising sources of insoluble dietary fiber as well as soluble dietary fiber, at least one of which is fiber extracted from pulp of edible Green Leafy Vegetation, palatability improving ingredients, each 3 gram portion of dietary fiber in the composition is associated with not more than 100kcal (Kilocalories) and the composition is palatable for direct consumption as a powder. The process of making the composition comprises steps of making a powder mix of fiber extracted from edible Green Leafy Vegetation, other sources of insoluble and soluble dietary fiber, and a solution of palatability improving ingredients in water; uniformly moistening the powder mix of fiber in a single step or multiple steps with the solution of palatability improving ingredients; and drying the moist powder.

Description

IMPROVED INSOLUBLE DIETARY FIBER INGREDIENT

FIELD OF INVENTION

This invention pertains to preparing pre-cooked dry powder that is capable of consumption as such as a high fiber dietary supplement or by diluting to make a drink high in dietary fiber; and methods of preparing these compositions that contain fiber from green leafy vegetables/vegetation, the said fiber being extracted from green leafy vegetables/vegetation or being as part of the green leafy vegetable powder.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Deficiency of dietary fiber in modern foods and pre-dominantly urban foods has emerged as a major problem to be solved.

Dietary fibers are of two types, insoluble dietary fiber and soluble dietary fiber; in terms of solubility in water. Both are required to be consumed every day by a human being to keep himself healthy. Whole grain cereals, fruits, nuts, fruits, vegetables of many types including green leafy vegetables are major sources of insoluble as well as soluble fibers. However, with emergence and preponderance of "fast Foods" that have become an integral part of fast life, fibers have diminished to a great extent from the food of many people, particularly in urban areas.

The term "Dietary fiber" is still a subject matter of discussion for its most accurate definition. But there is a significant scientific agreement to this term as defined by the Codex Alimentarius Commission jointly formed by the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations and the World Health Organization in its "Thirty second Session Rome, Italy, 29 June - 4 July 2009" on page 46 of its report entitled "REPORT OF THE 30th SESSION OF THE CODEX COMMITTEE ON NUTRITION AND FOODS FOR SPECIAL DIETARY USES Cape Town, South Africa 3 - 7 November 2008", available online at the link: http://www.codexalimentarius.net download/report 710/al32_26e.pdf; as:

"Dietary fibre means carbohydrate polymers¹ with ten or more monomeric units², which are not hydrolysed by the endogenous enzymes in the small intestine of humans and belong to the following categories:

• Edible carbohydrate polymers naturally occurring in the food as consumed,

• carbohydrate polymers, which have been obtained from food raw material by physical, enzymatic or chemical means and which have been shown to have a physiological effect of benefit to health as demonstrated by generally accepted scientific evidence to competent authorities,

• synthetic carbohydrate polymers which have been shown to have a physiological effect of benefit to health as demonstrated by generally accepted scientific evidence to competent authorities

• Methods of Analysis for Dietary Fibre

→ To be agreed.

1 When derived from a plant origin, dietary fibre may include fractions of lignin and/or other compounds when associated with polysaccharides in the plant cell walls and if these compounds are quantified by the AOAC gravimetric analytical method for dietary fibre analysis : Fractions of lignin and the other compounds (proteic fractions, phenolic compounds, waxes, saponins, phytates, cutin, phytosterols, etc.) intimately "associated" with plant polysaccharides are often extracted with the polysaccharides in the AOAC 991.43 method. These substances are included in the definition of fibre in so far as they are actually associated with the poly- or oligo-saccharidic fraction of fibre. However, when extracted or even re-introduced into a food containing non digestible polysaccharides, they cannot be defined as dietary fibre. When combined with polysacchrides, these associated substances may provide additional beneficial effects (pending adoption of Section on Methods of Analysis and Sampling).

2 Decision on whether to include carbohydrates from 3 to 9 monomeric units should be left to national authorities."

Although final definition is country specific on whether or not to include carbohydrates from 3 to 9 monomeric units in the definition of Dietary Fiber, the term "Dietary Fiber" is used in the field of nutrition in the context of food formulation of mono-gastric animals in general or food formulation of a human being in particular, and excludes feeds of animals who have rumen who can digest the cell wall polysaccharides in the rumen. In other words, fibrous feeds consumed by ruminant animals as their feed sources and never considered as food sources of human beings are excluded from the scope of the term "dietary Fiber" for the purpose of this specification. Deficiency of dietary fiber in human diet in the modern world is considered as a root cause of constipation, obesity and weight gain; and is associated with rise in incidence of "lifestyle diseases" including Type II diabetes, hypercholesterolemia, heart disease and cancer. Deficiency in consumption of insoluble and soluble fiber may arise even where the food is adequate in dietary fiber, being based on whole grain cereals and vegetables, when the daily food intake itself is very low, such as in some light weight thin individuals and also in some sedentary obese individuals and in recent trends of deliberate low consumption of staple foods. Diabetes and obesity are often associated with hypertension, heart disease, Chronic Kidney Disease, Diabetic Neuropathies (including Diabetic Nephropathy, Diabetic Retinopathy etc.) and stroke. High blood (total) cholesterol, more than 250 mg/dl, increases risk of coronary artery disease. Some individuals are genetically predisposed to coronary artery disease or Type II diabetes. Presence of two or more of lifestyle disorders simultaneously is termed as "Metabolic syndrome" wherein the risk of coronary artery disease is heightened to include even individuals who may not have reached the threshold of 250 mg/dl of total cholesterol level in blood. Although medicines are available for treating Type II diabetes and hypercholesterolemia, clinical recommendations are that before recommending a medicine, the patient should be advised to adopt "Therapeutic Lifestyle Change Program (TLC)" suggested by US FDA (see http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/public/heart/chol/chol_tlc.pdf ). It is also pointed out that the efficacy of the medicines in such patients also increases by adoption of TLC. Thus TLC is considered indispensable, whether or not a medicine is prescribed.

TLC envisages that consumption of adequate dietary fiber is a must and should contain insoluble dietary fiber as well as soluble dietary fiber. Adequate consumption of dietary fiber which has a proper balance of insoluble and soluble dietary fiber is a further integral/essential requirement to achieve a healthy lifestyle change. Adequate dietary fiber with correct proportion of insoluble and soluble fiber is also considered to improve immunity of the body because it supports in colon a rich microflora of beneficial microorganisms that contributes to improving immune function in the body on one hand and does not allow pathogenic microorganisms to grow in colon on the other hand. This attribute is valuable to combat infections, particularly against the ever increasing threat of newer and newer drug resistant strains of bacterial and pathogenic microbes, so called "superbugs".

It is becoming clear that the innocuous dietary fiber, which by itself does not have any nutritive value nor any nutritive function is a very important factor that navigates digestion to a healthy path in so many different ways when it is consumed with food every time in optimum quantity and when the proportion of insoluble and soluble fiber is also optimum. All this is possible only if one can plan and control how much fiber he is consuming and if he can ensure that the same is available with all the major meals. Adequate dietary fiber intake is understood to be 25 to 35 grams of total fiber per day for adults and (age in years + 5) gram for children up to 15 years. Of the total fiber intake, at least 20-25% should be soluble fiber.

Although above dietary recommendations for diet correction look to be simple on paper, they are difficult to comply in practice as a part of daily routine in the long run. A low calorie, low fat, low in saturated fat, no trans-fat, high in fiber and proper balance of insoluble and soluble fiber is normally possible to be complied only if someone pursues it as a daily dedicated activity wherein the food sources are purchased from market based on detailed knowledge of their composition, the food is made at home and carried in lunch boxes for breakfast and lunch at work place. This is usually not feasible in modern life that is fast and where women also go to work. Availability of ready-to-eat products in market is practically non-existent because addition of substantial quantity of fat is and removal of insoluble fiber are integral to their production as that is considered as unavoidable for making them organoleptically acceptable. A high fiber food is usually unpalatable. Hence, commercially available food products that are high in dietary fiber and low in calories, pre-cooked and ready-to-eat designed to provide correction to the dietary fiber deficiency in daily urban diet and are palatable also, are not available in the market. There are, nevertheless some products labeled as "high fiber' available in the market, but they are far short of the quality requirement of a healthy product since they are associated with one or more un-healthy ingredients or are unbalanced with respect to proportion of insoluble and soluble fibers. For example, there are products where 6 gram soluble fiber is offered as one single serving as a beverage, but it contains only soluble fiber; whereas the requirement is of soluble as well as insoluble fiber. A further shortcoming of such a product is that it shall serve as a supplement for only one meal, whereas the healthy action of dietary fiber is when the same is consumed with food and not without food. Hence, each food should have adequate supplementation. Hence, 6 gram supplementation done once a day should actually be distributed pro-rata as 2 grams per meal for three major meals. This is not possible in that product which is packaged as a single 6 gram serving. When fiber gets mixed with the food during course of digestion; it slows down the rate of digestion as well as absorption of the glucose generating carbohydrates in the food, binds the cholesterol secreted in bile juice which gets irreversibly bound to the fiber if lignin is present in that fiber in exposed state, provides bulk to stools and normalizes consistency of the stools. This bulk providing action is better if the insoluble dietary fiber is capable to provide the much needed nitrogen for luxuriant growth of bacteria; when it is possible that 80% of the bulk of stools is provided by the bacterial mass; the sheer bulk induces Normal Bowel Movement without need of artificial stimulation of laxation. Soluble fiber, after reaching colon, can be used as a food by beneficial/friendly bacteria in colon. The beneficial colon bacteria are believed to stimulate immune system of the body and also produce short chain fatty acids useful for down-regulating new cholesterol formation in the body. Thus, dietary fiber by itself, independent of food, does not have any nutritive value but when it is component of the food that is consumed in proper quantity and proportion, it gives several health benefits. The health effect of fiber consumed with one meal cannot be passed on to another meal with which it is not physically associated. Hence, every meal is needed to have, independent of the other meal, proper quantity and quality of dietary fiber in it. Similarly, there are some products recently made available as flavored beverages with coffee flavor and contain Fructo-oligosaccharides. Thus, in effect, this drink is a soluble fiber and caffeine; no insoluble fiber. Further high fiber beverage supplements are associated also with more than 100 calories per 3 gram fiber forcing one to consume large quantity of calories if one wants to consume the least quantity of fiber's supplement per day i.e. at least 6 grams per day, defeating the cause of consuming the fiber. Further caffeine is better avoided in a healthy diet for every day consumption. There are also "High Fiber" labeled biscuits in market, most of whom do not satisfy the requirement of 6 g fiber/100 gram composition, and if exceptional ones satisfy this requirement, almost all of them have total fat usually about 20%, saturated fat usually around about 9 to 10% and are associated with calories more than 100 per 3 gram fiber. As soon as fiber is associated with high quantity of total fat and something like 9% saturated fat, although content of fiber may be labeled as "High", its health benefits are nullified, rather counteracted, for the purpose of reducing the risk of Type II diabetes, hypercholesterolemia, coronary artery disease and cancers. It is indeed recommended in TLC that insoluble as well as soluble fiber be sourced by wise selection of food sources from market that includes fruits, fruity vegetables and fresh Green Leafy Vegetables. However, this is a very difficult task for at least two reasons: first is availability of time for a consumer to purchase them every day from market and for cooking the same. Second reason is that fiber is usually in a very dilute quantity in the source raw material and a lot of volume/bulk of the source of fiber is required to be eaten to ensure consumption of adequate quantity of the fiber; still further, all these food sources add to calories that may have to be consumed with fiber provided by them. Ensuring proper balance of insoluble and soluble fiber through normal food sources every day is a very difficult task. That is precisely why TLC programs have been seen to be a non-starter in most of the cases or are not complied with as a routine part of life.

Inventive high fiber instant soups that are free from added fat, free from saturated and trans-fat and providing less than 100 calories per 3 gram fiber have also been prepared by these inventors. They have been found effective for lowering cholesterol from 251 mg/dl per day in one person to 230 mg/dl in 30 days by consuming 24 gram solids of the soups powder per meal for three meals per day accounting to supplementation of a total of 14 gram fiber per day, half of which is insoluble and rest half soluble. However, in regular use, for an office going person and the one who encounters frequent travelling outstation, compliance shall be difficult because preparing the soup by boiling in office or at out-station place is not practical.

Hence, there was a need for new compositions and new technology that shall make it possible to commercially manufacture pre-cooked, ready-to-eat or ready-to-drink, high fiber food supplement products that have reasonably long shelf life, are organoleptically acceptable in general, have adequate insoluble as well as soluble dietary fiber without exception but associated with least possible calories so that their introduction in daily diet does not require major curtailment in consumption of other calorie containing food sources for achieving supplementation of 6 gram per day or more and can be consumed ready-to-eat as such or, when they are concentrates of a beverage, after diluting with a suitable drinking fluid; and also containing nitrogen bound to fiber that would not be digested in upper digestive tract and shall be released only in colon for supporting luxuriant growth of beneficial bacteria in colon. The drinking fluid for dilution of the concentrate may be, without limitation, any one or more of water, buttermilk, curd, diluted and spiced curd (Lassi), fruit juice etc.

These inventors have disclosed in WO 2014/102835 a pre-cooked high fiber drink concentrate compositions that contains insoluble dietary fiber extracted from green leafy vegetables with additional insoluble dietary fiber from other sources and also soluble fiber. These compositions were moist pastes filled in wide mouthed bottles, spoon-able product for taking out of the bottle for consumption without or with dilution in a glassful of water. They had good palatability and complied with the limitation of not exceeding 100 calories per 3 gram total dietary fiber within the spirit of the benchmark of European Food Safety Authority which states that "A claim that a food is high in fibre, and any claim likely to have the same meaning for the consumer, may only be made where the product contains at least 6 g of fibre per 100 g or at least 3 g of fibre per 100 kcal." as given in "REGULATION (EC) No 1924/2006 OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCI L of 20 December 2006 on nutrition and health claims made on foods" as downloaded from the link http://eur- lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/site/en/oj/2006/l_404/l_40420061230en00090025.pdf

However, this composition packed and stored in the bottles was high in moisture, was subjected to repeated opening and closing for spooning out the composition for consumption, the risk of microbial contamination due to contaminated spoons in such a system is always high. Same composition when was attempted to be dried as a powder in order to overcome the microbial contamination problem, got highly discolored and had an adverse taste. Any high fiber dry powder mix complying with the requirement of not more than 100 kcal for every 3 gram fiber in the composition was highly unpalatable, gave a rough irritating feeling to throat while consuming, had extremely unattractive taste. Overcoming these problems was challenging and needed a solution.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

This invention discloses a composition for dietary fiber supplementation and a process of making the same, wherein the composition is a dry powder comprising sources of insoluble dietary fiber as well as soluble dietary fiber, at least one of which is fiber extracted from pulp of edible Green Leafy Vegetation, palatability improving ingredients, each 3 gram portion of dietary fiber in the composition is associated with not more than l OOkcal (Kilocalories) and the composition is palatable for direct consumption as a powder.

This composition is consumable also by mixing with drinking water, juice, milk, buttermilk, curd, diluted curd called as Lassi, cooked vegetable, dahl, gravy, dough for making a food item or any other compatible food item.

The Green Leafy Vegetation comprises a Green Leafy Vegetable.

The fiber of edible Green Leafy Vegetation is powder of fibrous fraction dried after removal of juice from wet pulp of the green leafy vegetation. The composition of this invention, as characterized above, is further characterized by one or more of following attributes: (a) Insoluble and soluble dietary fiber are in proportion of about 1 : 1 , (b) the ingredients contributing to dietary fiber are a minimum of 70% of the dry matter of the composition when sweetener is a high intensity sweetener and a minimum 15% of dry matter of the composition when sweetener is sucrose, fructose, and a minimum of 10% of dry matter when sweetener is polyol or any other low intensity sweetener, and (c) the powder is palatable even when consumed directly.

In one aspect of this invention, the particles of soluble fiber ingredients are associates as a composite with the insoluble fiber ingredients, and are further intimately associated with palatability imparting additives/excipients. The effect is, the composition becomes smooth for oral consumption despite very high content of the originally unpalatable insoluble fiber ingredients.

The process of making composition of this invention comprises steps of making a powder mix of fiber extracted from edible Green Leafy Vegetation, other sources of insoluble and soluble dietary fiber, and a solution of palatability improving ingredients in water; uniformly moistening the powder mix of fiber in a single step or multiple steps with the solution of palatability improving ingredients; and drying the moist powder.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

To overcome the challenging problem, an option of making a dry concentrate of the above composition was explored meant to be filled dry in a bottle or sachets and the one that can be consumed as powder as such or with dilution for making a drink from that. The experience was that the resulting drink gave an un-comfortable feeling of abrasion/uncomfortable irritative touch in the throat while swallowing; which was due to the insoluble dietary fiber component derived from green leafy vegetables and other food/grain sources. This remained for quite some time as an obstacle for making available microbiologically safer compositions of dry concentrates of palatable high fiber supplements in general and drinks in particular. This invention comprises a dry powder composition, the composition comprising an abrasive/irritative insoluble dietary fiber ingredients made from Green Leafy Vegetables and other food sources, formulated into a composition that masks the abrasive/irritative feel by smooth feel in throat while swallowing after moistening. The smooth feel is provided by making soluble fiber particles to adhere to on the surface of moist insoluble fiber ingredients; and drying such aggregate.

This invention also comprises a process for making a dry powder composition comprising more than 6 g dietary fiber/100 gram of the composition and comprising an abrasive/rough/unpalatable insoluble dietary fiber ingredient into a product that shall provide smooth feel in throat while eating the powder. The composition of this invention is a dry powder comprising sources of dietary fiber, at least one of which is fiber extracted from edible Green Leafy Vegetation, each 3 gram portion of dietary fiber in the composition is associated with not more than lOOkcal (Kilocalories) and the composition is palatable for direct consumption as a powder. The process of this invention comprises, uniformly moistening the insoluble fiber ingredients, comprising at least the fiber extracted from Green Leafy Vegetation/vegetable, in a single step or multiple steps, with an edible aqueous solution that contains palatability improving ingredients, bringing soluble fiber ingredients in contact with moist insoluble fiber ingredients so that the soluble fiber ingredients make a composite with the insoluble fiber ingredients; and drying the moist composite granular powder. The formation of the composite provides effective masking of the rough, abrasive and irritative feel of the insoluble fiber components, including the fiber extracted from Green Leafy Vegetation and replacing it with smooth feel of the aggregate when it gets moistened at the time of consumption as a part of the high fiber supplement composition. The palatability improving factors associated with the edible aqueous solution makes the final product further palatable.

The sources of insoluble dietary fiber for composition of this invention comprise, without limitation, one or more of fiber of edible Green Leafy Vegetation, wheat fiber from wheat seeds, Oat fiber, edible seed coat fiber and such water insoluble polysaccharides derived from cell walls of plants and ingredients associated with them that are indigestible by enzymes in upper digesting tract of monogastric animals and are considered as safe in food regulations for human consumption, The insoluble dietary fiber may also comprise any water insoluble carbohydrate polymer that is covered within the scope of dietary fiber as provided in the definition of Codex Alimentarius Commission provided in the beginning.

The sources of soluble dietary fiber for composition of this invention comprise, without limitation, one or more of Carboxy Methyl Cellulose, Fructo-oligosaccharide, agar-agar, sodium alginate, Xanthan gum, Gum acacia, guar gum, inulin, locust bean gum, Galactomannan, other edible gums and any water soluble polysaccharide that is indigestible by enzymes in upper digesting tract of monogastric animals, The soluble dietary fiber may also comprise any water soluble carbohydrate polymer that is covered within the scope of dietary fiber as provided in the definition of Codex Alimentarius Commission provided in the beginning.. The water soluble polymer may be a Carboxy methyl cellulose, Hydroxypropyl Mehtyl Cellulose, Polymethcrylate, Hydroxypropyl Cellulose or any other water soluble polymer.

The sources of palatability improving ingredients for composition of this invention comprise one or more selected from the group consisting of Glucose, fructose, galactose, sucrose, other sugars, sugar alcohols and artificial or natural high intensity sweeteners such as Sucralose, Stevia, Stevioside, Rebaudioside, Acesulphame K, Aspartame and other high intensity sweeteners, extract of Garcinia indica Choicy, Citric acid, tartaric acid and other low calorie ingredients that impart palatability. The particles of high fiber dry powder of this invention comprise an abrasive insoluble dietary fiber ingredient making a composite with a mucilagenous soluble fiber particles. The soluble dietary fiber ingredient comprises, without limitation, one or more of Xanthan gum, Gum Arabic or any other gum, sodium alginate, Carageenan, Agar-Agar or any other hydrocolloids.

In one embodiment of this invention, the insoluble dietary fiber ingredient is derived from a fresh Green Leafy Vegetation Crop by rendering/reducing the crop to a pulp, separating juice from the pulp to leave behind a high fiber fraction for use as an insoluble dietary fiber after (a) precooking and powdering, or (b) after powdering the same with or without precooking and drying.

The Green Leafy Vegetation crop from which the insoluble dietary fiber ingredient is made may be Methi (Fenugreek in English having botanical name Trigonella foenum-graecum L. or any other Green Leafy Vegetable that is consumed by human being or any other edible and safe green leafy crop that is or is not used as green leafy vegetable. A person skilled in the art clearly knows that all edible green leafy vegetation/vegetables other than Methi are also rich in dietary fiber; all can be pulped in a blender and when the pulp of each one is pressed to remove juice, what remains behind is fiber rich fraction, which can be dried and powdered and used as an ingredient for making compositions as illustrated in this specification. Hence, fiber derived from all edible Green Leafy Vegetation and Green Leafy Vegetables are included within the scope of this invention.

In one embodiment of this invention, the dry powder of the insoluble dietary fiber comprises a pre-cooked powder. The pre-cooking can be done either by boiling in water, pressure cooking, autoclaving or retorting the fibrous mass or powder of the fiber after moistening. Wherever the term "moistening" is used in this specification in the context of process of making the product, it is used to denote a state of wetness imparted to a dry powder, which makes that powder to lose its dusty nature and becomes wet but does not raise water content to such an extent that when the moist powder is held in hand and squeezed, free water drips out.

This invention is targeted to transform pre-cooked dry powders of compositions comprising abrasive/unpalatable insoluble dietary fiber ingredient fiber for human consumption into a product which would be smooth to throat while swallowing as product. However, the same can also be adapted for supplementing dietary fiber requirements of any mono-gastric animals such as cats, dogs, poultry, pigeons, other domesticated birds, or in aquaculture and they are also included within the scope of this invention.

For the purpose of this specification, the terms "dietary fiber" and "food formulation" are used only in the context of food of mono-gastric animals in general and of human being in particular. Thus, although the cattle feed formulations contain the ingredients defined and covered in the scope of the term "Dietary fiber", the compositions of matter which are cattle feeds are excluded from the scope of this specification, including claims. Fibers from Green Leafy Vegetables are long, they may also be branched and having large surface area. Their properties with respect to influencing rate of digestion, adsorption of cholesterol and ability to impede diffusion of glucose liberated during digestion and its absorption by intestinal walls are found to be different than the particulate fibers of bran or seed coat. These properties are important in terms of ability of fibers to slow down rate of release of glucose from the food during digestion i.e. lowering of glycemic index of food, providing further resistance to absorption of the released glucose by the intestinal walls and adsorption of cholesterol and retaining adsorbed cholesterol due to lignin deposits in/on the fiber of Green Leafy Vegetables. For sourcing dietary fiber, the Green Leafy Vegetable may also be replaced by any other plant species that provides insoluble dietary fiber form its green vegetation that is safe for human consumption. Powder of whole dried green vegetation crop may also be used as source of fiber from green leafy vegetable; however, the fiber made from the fractionation process described above is free from the leaf matrix, and is fully available for all the benefits that are derivable from dietary fiber. Dry powder of whole vegetation is powder of dry intact matrix of the leaves, in which the fiber is still surrounded by the dried leaf matrix and fiber or any other content that is covered by the dry matrix does not come in contact with the digestion process in the small intestine; hence only a small portion of the fiber in dried powder is available for its influence on the digestion process. The important difference that makes between fiber embedded in matrix in case of powders of green leafy vegetation and fiber that is extracted out of the matrix of the pulp is that when free from matrix, lignin of the fiber is available for irreversible binding/sequestering with cholesterol as soon as bile juice enters the alimentary canal which ensures elimination of cholesterol with stools. The protein associated with structural part of cell wall of fibers that are free from surrponding matrix becomes available to friendly bacteria in colon for achieving luxuriant growth, the health benefits of which includes (a) stimulation of Normal Bowel Movement without the need of any laxative, and (b) benefits like stimulation of immunity by the friendly bacterial in colon and production of small chain fatty acids which help to down regulate production of LDL: cholesterol. Thus, leaf matrix-free fiber extracted from Green Leafy vegetation/vegetable as attributes that are absent in other dietary fibers from other food sources.

Products of this invention could be made sweet tasting when sweeteners that can withstand processing temperature are added. The sweeteners may include Glucose, fructose, galactose, sucrose, other sugars, sugar alcohols and artificial or natural high intensity sweeteners such as Sucralose, Stevia, Stevioside, Rebaudioside etc.

Dry powdered products of this invention can also be salty when salt is added to it. The salt may be common salt, rock salt or a low-sodium salt.

Since the dry powdered products of this invention shall make dietary fiber supplementation an easy task to achieve since they can be consumed at breakfast, lunch as well as dinner pro-rata with the quantity of food eaten at respective times where it would be able to mathematically control/know the quantity of insoluble and soluble fiber eaten to ensure that the same is at least 6 gram per day, the same is evenly distributed over the entire day with each major food intake, ensuring that every time there shall be intake of optimum quantity of insoluble fiber comprising fiber extracted from Green Leafy vegetation, as well as soluble fiber intake.

The dry powder products of this invention can also be prepared by addition of a low quantity of fat or fatty acids or derivatives of fatty acids that are unsaturated or polyunsaturated or long chain polyunsaturated. The unsaturated fat or fatty acids or derivatives of unsaturated fatty acids that may be added in low quantity in the dry powdered products of this invention may preferably include olive oil, flax seed oil, Walnut oil, microbial oils including oil from algae and fungi rich in residues of alpha linolenic acid, linolenic acid, arachidonic acid, Eicospantenoic acid, Docosahexaenoic acid etc. . In the following is described an account of illustration of working of this invention, wherein the ingredients and their proportions are illustrative and not limiting the scope of the invention. Any mention of singular also encompassed pleural unless the context does not permit. Thus mention of "a mucilaginous agent" covers all mucilaginous agents that can be used in the alternative or in combination with each other. All equivalents and alternatives obvious to a person of an ordinary skill in the art are also considered to be covered by the disclosure of this invention in this specification.

In the following are described examples that are illustrative of how to work the invention, however, by no means do they limit the scope of the claims or this invention; and all equivalents embodiment and embodiments obvious to a person skilled in the art are included within the scope of this invention.

In the examples given below, high intensity sweetener Sucralose has been illustrated as sweetener. It adds to palatability of the composition which has more than 70% fiber on dry matter basis. In place of Sucralose, any other high intensity sweetener including, without limitations, Stevia, Stevioside, Rebaudioside, Aspartame, Acesufame K and the like can be used; all of them would give, when used to replace Sucralose, in the below illustrated examples, for same equivalent sweetness to Sucralose, more than 70% fiber on dry matter. Sucrose, Glucose, Fructose and Polyols also can also be used in place of high intensity sweeteners; and when used for equivalent sweetness, the resulting compositions would have more than 15% fiber in case of sugars and more than 10% in case of polyols. Getting a composition that comprise 10% or higher percentage of the dietary fiber, in which insoluble and soluble dietary fibers are about 1 :1 in proportion, each 3 gram dietary fiber is associated with less than 100 Kilocalories, containing negligible fat, and yet the composition is palatable is an embodiment of this invention. These merits arise on account of the process of making them also being inventive.

Examples: Example 1 : Preparation of insoluble dietary fiber ingredient from Green Leafy Vegetables.

Fresh green leafy vegetable of Methi (Fenugreek) (Trigonella foenum-graecum L) was passed, accompanied by addition of ascorbic acid at about 0.38 gram ascorbic acid per kg of the vegetation, through a hammer mill to get a pulp. The juice was separated from the pulp in a basket centrifuge to get a fibrous residue. The fibrous residue (fiber) was washed with hot water, excess water was removed, the moist mass of fiber was heat treated for removing moisture, dried and powdered.

Example 2.

Making a dry powder comprising an abrasive insoluble dietary fiber ingredient for smooth feel in throat while swallowing after moistening - Method 1 1. Step 1 - Mixture 1 : To the dried, sifted and powdered 27.5g fiber from

Green Leafy vegetable of Methi was added 10g of dry Gracinia indica fruit skin powder. 10g of Xanthan gum was weighed and 50% of it was added to the above mixture and mixed well dry in kitchen blender/mixer. Step 2- Mixture 2: 750 mg of sucralose, 2 g salt and 5 g citric acid were added to small quantity of water just enough to dissolve all ingredients.

Step 3 - About 50% of mixture 2 was added to mixture 1 slowly just to moisten the powder.

Step 4 - Mixture 3: 25g of wheat fiber, made from wheat grains, and 17.5 g of oat fiber were mixed thoroughly and were kept aside.

Step 5 - Mixture 4: 17.5g of Gum Acacia, !7.5 g of CMC (carboxy methyl cellulose), 17.5 g of FOS ( Fructo-oligo saccharide) were mixed together and further mixed with mixture of step 3.

Step 6: In the next step rest of the Xanthan gum not used for making Mixture 1 is sprinkled on the moist powder of Mixture 4 and rest of the mixture 2 is sprinkled on moist powder of Mixture 4. To this, the mixture 3 of step 4 is added and whole mass becomes moist powder.

Step 7: The mass of step 6 is dried in a oven at 60 degree centigrade so as to make it a dry powder.

Step 8: Flavour and colour are added to the dry powder of step 7 and the whole powder is ground in a kitchen grinder/mixer so as to make granular powder.

Fiber composition of Example 2

Dry Total Insoluble Soluble fiber

Ingredients

matter g fiber g fiber g g

Green Leafy

27.5 15.125 15.12 Negligible Vegettation fiber

Wheat fiber 25 24.25 24.25 0

Oat Fiber 17.5 16.975 17 0

Gum Acacia 17.5 17.5 0 17.5

Fructo-oligosachharide 17.5 17.5 0 17.5

Carboxymethyl

17.5 17.5 0 17.5

Cellulose

Xanthan gum 10 10 0 10

Salt 2 0 0 0

Citric acid 5 0 0 0

Garcinia indica fruit

10 Negligible Negligible Negligible skin powder (Amsul)

Sucralose 0.75 0 0 O

150.25 1 18.85 56.37 62.5

% of composition 79.1 37.52 41.6

Composition values for fiber drawn from Literature for Green Leafy vegetation Fiber and for all others from Certificate of Analysis of the supplier of the ingredient

The dried powder was highly palatable, could be eaten as such directly or drunk as a beverage after adding 4 gram of the powder to half a glass of water which gave very smooth feel in the throat when swallowed. Example 3

Making a dry powder comprising an abrasive insoluble dietary fiber ingredient for smooth feel in throat while swallowing after moistening - Method 2

In a further modification of the example 2, to the fiber of Green Leafy Vegetable Methi was added Garcinia indica Choicy fruit powder. To this mixture was added all portion of Xanthan gum, Gum acacia, CMC, FOS mentioned in Example 2 and is mixed well. To this mix, the water of the step 2 Mixture 2 of the Example 2 is added to make the mass moist. To the moist mass is added wheat and oat fiber mix of step 4 mixture 3 of the Example 2 and mixed well to provide a final moist powder. The final moist powder is dried in an oven, to which is further added food colour and flavor. The whole powder is further milled in a kitchen grinder/mixer so as to make granular powder.

Example 4:

5.792 kg of Fiber from Green Leafy Vegetable is added to wheat fiber of 5.082kg and oat fiber of 3.55kg. Mixed well. Using small amount of water this mixture is autoclaved to give Mixture 1. 3.557kg of Gum Arabic, 3.557 kg of CMC, 3.557 kg of Xanthan Gum, 3.557 kg of FOS are mixed well to give Mixture 2.

To 20 kg of Garcinia indica fruit extract/syrup is added 372g of common salt, 932g of citric acid, 110g sucralose and 200g of beet root powder. Mixed well to give Mixture 3. Garcinia indica syrup is also called locally in Konkan region in India as "Aghal", which is a fluid/liquid extract of fruit of Garcinia indica, having extremely strong and agreeable taste and flavor.

Mixture 1 and Mixture 2 are mixed well in a mass mixer and to it is sprayed Mixture 3 during the mixing phase. To ensure intimate mixing and uniform moistness, the whole mixture is passed through the pulverizer without using any mesh. The granules obtained are sifted through #40 mesh and dried under air blown by fans at room temperature of about 25-30°C. The dried mass is again coarse pulverized and sifted. The powder contains 86% fiber. The obtained granules taste very good and can be used as a powder dose of 4g to prepared a drink in about 100 ml drinking water, which gave very smooth feel in the throat when consumed by drinking. Fiber Composition of Example 4

Dry matter Total Insoluble Soluble

Ingredients

Kg fiber Kg fiber Kg fiber Kg

Green Leafy

5.792 3.186 3.186 Negligible vegetation fiber

Wheat fiber - from

5.082 4.93 4.93 Negligible seeds

Oat Fiber 3.55 3.444 3.444 Negligible

Gum Acacia 3.557 3.557 0 3.557

Fructo -oligo

3.557 3.557 0 3.557 sacchride

Carboxy Methyl

3.55 3.557 0 3.557 Cellulose

Xanthan gum 3.557 3.557 0 3.557

Salt 0.372 0 0 0

Citric acid 0.932 0 0 0

Garcinia indica

liquid extract of Negligible Negligible Negligible Negligible fruit (Aghal)

Sucralose 0.1 1 0 0 o

Total 30.059 25.787 1 1.56 14.228

% fiber 85.787 38.458 47.334

Composition values for fiber drawn from Literature for Green Fiber and for all others from Certificate of Analysis of the supplier of the ingredient

Claims

Claims :

A composition for dietary fiber supplementation, wherein the composition is a dry powder comprising sources of insoluble dietary fiber as well as soluble dietary fiber, at least one of which is fiber extracted from pulp of edible Green Leafy Vegetation, palatability improving ingredients, each 3 gram portion of dietary fiber in the composition is associated with not more than l OOkcal (Kilocalories) and the composition is palatable for direct consumption as a powder.

The composition according to claim 1 wherein the same is consumable also by mixing with drinking water, juice, milk, buttermilk, curd, diluted curd called as Lassi, cooked vegetable, dahl, gravy, dough for making a food item or any other compatible food item.

The composition according to claim 1 wherein:

a. sources of insoluble dietary fiber comprise one or more selected from the group consisting of fiber of edible Green Leafy Vegetation, wheat fiber from wheat seeds, Oat fiber, edible seed coat fiber and such water insoluble polysaccharides derived from cell walls of plants and ingredients associated with them that are indigestible by enzymes in upper digesting tract of mono-gastric animals and are considered as safe in food regulations for human consumption,

b. sources of soluble dietary fiber comprise one or more selected from the group consisting of Carboxy Methyl Cellulose, Fructo-oligo saccharide, agar-agar, sodium alginate, Xanthan gum, Gum acacia, guar gum, Inulin, locust bean gum, Galactomannan, other edible gums and any water soluble polysaccharide that is indigestible by enzymes in upper digesting tract of monogastric animals, c. palatability improving ingredients comprise one or more selected from the group consisting of Glucose, fructose, galactose, sucrose, other sugars, sugar alcohols and artificial or natural high intensity sweeteners such as Sucralose, Stevia, Stevioside, Rebaudioside, Acesulphame K, Aspartame and other high intensity sweeteners, extract of Garcinia indica Choicy, Citric acid, tartaric acid and other low calorie ingredients that impart palatability,

d. the Green Leafy Vegetation comprises a Green Leafy Vegetable, and e. the fiber of edible Green Leafy Vegetation is powder of fibrous fraction dried after removal of juice from wet pulp of the green leafy vegetation.

The composition according to claim 1 wherein the composition is characterized by one or more of following attributes:

a. Insoluble and soluble dietary fiber are in proportion of about 1 : 1 , b. the ingredients contributing to dietary fiber are a minimum of 70% of the dry matter of the composition when sweetener is a high intensity sweetener and a minimum 15% of dry matter of the composition when sweetener is sucrose, fructose, and a minimum of 10% of dry matter when sweetener is polyol or any other low intensity sweetener,

c. the powder is palatable even when consumed directly.

The composition according to claim 4 wherein the particles of the soluble fiber ingredients are associates as a composite with the insoluble fiber ingredients, and are further intimately associated with palatability imparting additives/excipients. A process for making a composition for dietary fiber supplementation, wherein the composition is a dry powder comprising sources of insoluble dietary fiber as well as soluble dietary fiber, at least one of which is fiber extracted from pulp of edible Green Leafy Vegetation, each 3 gram portion of dietary fiber in the composition is associated with not more than lOOkcal (Kilocalories) and the composition is palatable for direct consumption as a powder.

The process according to claim 6 comprising steps of making a powder mix of fiber extracted from edible Green Leafy Vegetation, other sources of insoluble and soluble dietary fiber, and a solution of palatability improving ingredients in water; uniformly moistening the powder mix of fiber in a single step or multiple steps with the solution of palatability improving ingredients; and drying the moist powder.

The process according to claim 7 wherein:

a. the other sources of insoluble dietary fiber comprise one or more selected from the group consisting of fiber of wheat fiber from wheat seeds, Oat fiber, edible seed coat fiber and such water insoluble polysaccharides derived from cell walls of plants and ingredients associated with them that are indigestible by enzymes in upper digesting tract of monogastric animals and are considered as safe in food regulations for human consumption,

b. sources of soluble dietary fiber comprise one or more selected from the group consisting of Carboxy Methyl Cellulose, Fructo- oligosaccharide, agar agar, sodium alginate, Xanthan gum, Gum acacia, guar gum, Inulin, locust bean gum, Galactomannan, other edible gums and any water soluble polysaccharide that is indigestible by enzymes in upper digesting tract of monogastric animals, c. palatability improving ingredients comprise one or more selected from the group consisting of Glucose, fructose, galactose, sucrose, other sugars, sugar alcohols and artificial or natural high intensity sweeteners such as Sucralose, Stevia, Stevioside, Rebaudioside, Acesulphame K, Aspartame and other high intensity sweeteners, extract of Garcinia indica Choicy, Citric acid, tartaric acid and other low calorie ingredients that impart palatability,

The process of claim 8 wherein the sources of insoluble and soluble fibers and palatability improving ingredients are selected such that they provide a composition that is characterized by one or more of following attributes: a. Insoluble and soluble dietary fiber are in proportion of about 1 : 1 , b. the ingredients contributing to dietary fiber are a minimum of 70% of the dry matter of the composition when sweetener is a high intensity sweetener and a minimum 15% of dry matter of the composition when sweetener is sucrose, fructose, and a minimum of 10% of dry matter when sweetener is polyol or any other low intensity sweetener,

c. the powder is palatable even when consumed directly.