Wheat Cell Wall Polysaccharides (Dietary Fibre)

Wheat is a major source of dietary fibre in the human diet, with whole grain containing about 11–15% fibre/g dry wt. However, in most countries wheat is most widely consumed after milling to give white flour, reducing the fibre content to less than 5%. The major dietary fibre components in white flour are the cell wall polysaccharides arabinoxylan and β-glucan. This chapter therefore focuses on these components, reviewing their structures and properties, biosynthesis, variation in amount and composition and genetic control. This provides a basis for increasing the content of wheat fibre and manipulating its properties to optimise the health benefits of wheat-based foods.