BETA CYCLODEXTRIN
Product No. P02050
Cyclodextrins (sometimes called cycloamyloses) are a family of compounds made up of sugar molecules bound together in a ring (cyclic oligosaccharides).
Cyclodextrins are produced from starch by means of enzymatic conversion. They are used in food, pharmaceutical, and chemical industries, as well as agriculture and environmental engineering.
Cyclodextrins are composed of 5 or more α-D-glucopyranoside units linked 1->4. The 5-membered macrocycle is not natural. Typical cyclodextrins contain a number of glucose monomers ranging from six to eight units in a ring, creating a cone shape. thus denoting:
α -cyclodextrin: six membered sugar ring molecule
β -cyclodextrin: seven sugar ring molecule
γ -cyclodextrin: eight sugar ring molecule
Typical cyclodextrins can be topologically represented as toroids with the larger and the smaller openings of the toroid exposing to the solvent secondary and primary hydroxyl groups respectively. Because of this arrangement, the interior of the toroids is not hydrophobic, but considerably less hydrophilic than the aqueous environment and thus able to host other hydrophobic molecules. In contrast, the exterior is sufficiently hydrophilic to impart cyclodextrins (or their complexes) water solubility.
The formation of the inclusion compounds greatly modifies the physical and chemical properties of the guest molecule, mostly in terms of water solubility. This is the reason why cyclodextrins have attracted much interest in many fields, especially pharmaceutical applications: because inclusion compounds of cyclodextrins with hydrophobic molecules are able to penetrate body tissues, these can be used to release biologically active compounds under specific conditions.
In the food industry, cyclodextrins are employed for the preparation of cholesterol free products: the bulky and hydrophobic cholesterol molecule is easily lodged inside cyclodextrin rings that are then removed. Alpha-, beta-, and gamma-cyclodextrin are all generally recognized as safe by the FDA.
Weight loss supplements are marketed from cyclodextrin, which claim to bind to fat and be an alternative to other anti-obesity medications. Other food applications further include the ability to stabilize volatile or unstable compounds and the reduction of unwanted tastes and odour. Reportedly cyclodextrins are used in alcohol powder, a powder for mixing alcoholic drinks.
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