Mineral Complexing Properties of Food Carbohydrates

The complexing of minerals by both low and high molecular weight carbohydrates is now well established and can be demonstrated by, for example, depression of conductivity, alteration of specific rotation, redox potential or techniques such as ligand exchange chroma‐tography. It is likely that mineral complexes will exist in food systems and, in mixtures of sugars such as glucose syrups, a variety of complexes will be present. Recent interest in the hydrogenated carbohydrates shows that these too complex minerals, sometimes better than their unhydrogenated counterparts. The complexing of Cu 2+ by hydrogenated glucose syrups, for example, increases as degree of polymerisation decreases and iron salts are also complexed by various simple carbohydrate molecules. Mineral complexing has many consequences for the taste, nutritional value and technological quality of foods. The taste of iron salts is masked for example, by complexing with carbohydrates at high pH, whereas the opposite occurs at low pH. Vitamin C is protected from Cu 2+ catalyzed oxidation when the cation is complexed with various carbohydrates or their hydrogenated derivatives. Such results have implications for the design, formulation and storage of food.