Some physical characteristics of dietary fibres and their influence on the microbial ecology of the human colon

Current thinking on the subject of dietary fibre tends to emphasize an inclusive definition that overlooks disparate characteristics of individual fibres and their components. The current definition includes all carbohydrate and some noncarbohydrate components that are resistant to mammalian enzymes. The analytical approach proposes to resolve the differences between sources of fibre by characterizing the different proportions of cellulose, hemicellulose, pectin, etc. and in turn resolving these into their respective component sugars.