Workshop on Food Polysaccharides for Health

Presented by Professor H. Douglas Goff, Ph.D., University of Guelph, Canada&ProfessorSteve W. Cui, Ph.D., Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada.

Nov. 2, 2016 14:00 to 17:30 E213 in food science building

Topics to be covered:

14:00-15:30 Part 1. Dietary Fibre for Glycemia Control. Presented by Prof. H. Douglas Goff.

One of the functions of food non-starch polysaccharides is to reduce the glycemic index of foods and the glycemic load (rise in blood sugar levels) following a meal. Prof. Goff will review the understanding of this important physiological function of dietary fibre and presentness material from in vitro and in vivo studies that helps to develop a mechanistic understanding.

15:45-17:15 Part 2. Fermentation Properties of Dietary Fibre. Prof. Steve W. Cui.

Another important function of food non-starch polysaccharides arises from fermentation by bacteria in the colon. Prof. Cui will cover the fermentation properties of various dietary fibre/polysaccharides in relation to immune responses and gut health.

Professor H. Douglas Goff has been a Professor in the Department of Food Science at the University of Guelph, Canada, for 28 years. Prof. Goff teaches undergraduate courses in Introductory Food and Nutritional Sciences, Functional Foods and Nutraceuticals, and Dairy Technology, and a graduate course in Food Carbohydrates. He teaches industry-oriented short courses in Ice Cream Science and Technology annually at Guelph and also regularly in Ireland and in Australia. His research program is focused in two areas: dairy and ice cream science and technology; and non-starch polysaccharide structure and physical and physiological properties. He has supervised 50 graduate students and has written over 150 research papers on these subjects. He has had sabbatical leaves at the University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia; University College Cork, Ireland; Unilever Research Colworth Laboratory, Sharnbrook, Bedfordshire, UK; and Suranaree University of Technology, NakhonRatchasima, Thailand.

Professor Steve W. Cui is a research scientist at the Guelph Food Research Center, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. Prof.Cui’s research interests are focused on the structure and functional properties of dietary fibre and hydrocolloids from agricultural products and their applications in foods. His expertise includes extraction, fractionation, analysis of natural polysaccharides, and elucidation of polysaccharide structures using methylation analysis, 2D NMR and mass spectroscopic techniques. He has been studying the bioactivity and structure-function relationship of polysaccharides by examining their conformation, rheological properties and functionality using light scattering and computer modelling approaches, and developing methodologies and process technologies to incorporate soluble dietary fibre into food products to exert health benefits.