Professor Marc van der Maarel

27 September 2017
11:00am

QIB Lecture Theatre

Speaker: Professor Marc van der Maarel

Multibranched alpha-glucans as slow digestible carbs for sport nutrition

Speaker: Professor Marc van der Maarel, Professor in Aquatic Biotechnology and Bioproduct Engineering, University of Groningen will present seminar: Multibranched alpha-glucans as slow digestible carbs for sport nutrition

Host: Fred Warren

Abstract

Starch is an energy storage carbohydrate accumulated by many plants as a mixture of the polymers amylose and amylopectin. Native starch in the granular form is the main component of the human diet supplying necessary glucose serving as energy source. Starch digestion starts in the mouth and oesophagus and is completed in the small intestine, and the architecture and structure of the starch determines the extent to which the polymers are degraded by salivary and the mucosal enzymes. The rate of starch digestion is an important parameter in sport nutrition, in particular for endurance sports. The ideal carbohydrate for sport nutrition should delay the onset of fatigue by replenishing depleted body reserves and, at the same time, allow fast fluid absorption to counteract dehydration. Multibranched alpha-glucans (MBAGs) with increased alpha,1-6 glycosidic linkages represent a more optimal energy source for sport nutrition than the commonly used maltodextrins. MBAGs are more slowly degraded by digestive enzymes leading to a more gradual appearance of glucose in the blood stream, have a very limited effect on the viscosity and a negligible contribution to the osmotic value even at high concentrations. In my presentation, I will discuss our research on the NanoGlycogen isolated from an extremophilic red microalga, the quest for the ultimate microbial glycogen branching enzyme, and the structural characteristics and functional properties of some of the MBAGs that we have produced over the years.

 

 

All staff from organisations on the Research Park are welcome to attend.