soluble fiber

(noun)

Soluble (may be prebiotic and/or viscous) is fiber that is readily fermented in the colon into gases and physiologically active byproducts.

Related Terms

Examples of soluble fiber in the following topics:

  • Dietary Fiber

    • Soluble fiber absorbs water to become a gelatinous, viscous substance.
    • Lignin, a major dietary insoluble fiber source, may alter the fate and metabolism of soluble fibers.
    • Some plants contain significant amounts of both soluble and insoluble fiber.
    • The plum's skin is a source of insoluble fiber while soluble fiber is in the pulp.
    • Table shows the functions and benefits of soluble and insoluble dietary fiber.

  • Importance of Carbohydrates

    • Carbohydrates contain soluble and insoluble elements; the insoluble part is known as fiber, which is mostly cellulose.
    • Fiber has many uses; it promotes regular bowel movement by adding bulk, and it regulates the rate of consumption of blood glucose.
    • Fiber also helps to remove excess cholesterol from the body.
    • Fiber binds and attaches to the cholesterol in the small intestine and prevents the cholesterol particles from entering the bloodstream.
    • Fiber-rich diets also have a protective role in reducing the occurrence of colon cancer.

  • Polysaccharides

    • About 20% is a water soluble material called amylose.
    • For fabrics the best cotton has long fibers, and short fibers or cotton dust are removed.
    • Pyroxylin is soluble in ether and at one time was used for photographic film and lacquers.
    • Viscose Rayon, is prepared by formation of an alkali soluble xanthate derivative that can be spun into a fiber that reforms the cellulose polymer by acid quenching.
    • The product fiber is called viscose rayon.

  • Thermosetting vs. Thermoplastic Polymers

    • Because of their high melting point and poor solubility in most solvents, Kevlar and Nomex proved to be a challenge, but this was eventually solved.
    • Lignin is the amorphous matrix in which the cellulose fibers of wood are oriented.
    • Wood is a natural composite material, nature's equivalent of fiberglass and carbon fiber composites.

  • Solubility

    • The degree of solubility ranges widely depending on the substances, from infinitely soluble (fully miscible), such as ethanol in water, to poorly soluble, such as silver chloride in water.
    • The solubility of gases displays the opposite relationship with temperature; that is, as temperature increases, gas solubility tends to decrease.
    • In contrast, a non-polar solute such as naphthalene is insoluble in water, moderately soluble in methanol, and highly soluble in benzene.
    • The solubility chart shows the solubility of many salts.
    • The solubilities of salts formed from cations on the left and anions on the top are designated as: soluble (S), insoluble (I), or slightly soluble (sS).

  • Adrenal Medulla

    • These water-soluble hormones are the major hormones underlying the fight-or-flight response.
    • To carry out this response, the adrenal medulla receives input from the sympathetic nervous system through nerve fibers originating in the thoracic spinal cord from T5–T11.
    • The adrenal medulla sits below the three layers of the adrenal cortex and is innervated by nerve fibers.

  • Solid Solubility and Temperature

    • Solubility often depends on temperature; the solubility of many substances increases with increasing temperature.
    • The solubility of a given solute in a given solvent typically depends on temperature.
    • Many salts show a large increase in solubility with temperature.
    • Some solutes exhibit solubility that is fairly independent of temperature.
    • A useful application of solubility is recrystallizaton.

  • Gas Solubility and Temperature

    • Solubility of a gas in water tends to decrease with increasing temperature, and solubility of a gas in an organic solvent tends to increase with increasing temperature.
    • Several factors affect the solubility of gases: one of these factors is temperature.
    • The trend that gas solubility decreases with increasing temperature does not hold in all cases.
    • There are several molecular reasons for the change in solubility of gases with increasing temperature, which is why there is no one trend independent of gas and solvent for whether gases will become more or less soluble with increasing temperature.
    • Methane, oxygen, carbon monoxide, nitrogen, and helium all have different solubilities in water, but all of them become less soluble with increasing temperature.

  • Selective Permeability

    • On the interior of the membrane, some proteins serve to anchor the membrane to fibers of the cytoskeleton.
    • Lipid-soluble material with a low molecular weight can easily slip through the hydrophobic lipid core of the membrane.
    • Substances such as the fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E, and K readily pass through the plasma membranes in the digestive tract and other tissues.
    • Fat-soluble drugs and hormones also gain easy entry into cells and are readily transported into the body's tissues and organs.

  • Molar Solubility and Relative Solubility

    • The relation between the molar solubility and the solubility product means that one can be used to find the other.
    • What is the molar solubility?
    • Compare their molar solubilities in water at 25 °C.
    • If compounds have different solubilities, or relative solubilities, they can be separated.
    • Calculate the molar solubility of a compound in water and the relative molar solubility of compounds