On August 3, 1987 (Federal Register, Vol. 52, No. 148, p.28690-1), the Final Rule issued by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on The Nutrition Labeling of Food; Calorie Content made mention for the first time of dietary fiber. It allowed the manufacturer, when calculating the appropriate declaration of calorie content of food, to subtract the carbohydrates attributable to nondigestible fiber (total dietary fiber determined by AOAC method 985.29) from the total carbohydrate content of the food. This was later amended to exclude only the insoluble dietary fiber from the carbohydrate content before calculating calories. When mandatory nutrition labeling of dietary fiber became effective in 1993, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture specifically incorporated the AOAC methods into the language of the food regulations (1). For more than 15 years, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the U.S. Department of Agriculture recognized and mandated through the nutrition labeling laws that the material that precipitates in 78% ethanol in the AOAC method for dietary fiber is dietary fiber. Since that time several methods have been approved for measuring dietary fiber by the AOAC. They are 1. AOAC Method 985.29 (1985) - Prosky, L, Asp, N-G., Furda, I., DeVries, J.W., Schweizer, T.F. and Harland, B.F..[Total dietary fiber in foods]; 2. AOAC Method 991.42 (1992) - Prosky, L., Asp, N-G., Schweizer, T.F., DeVries, J.W. and Furda, I. [Insoluble dietary fiber in foods]; 3. AOAC Method 993.16 (1992) - Prosky, L., Asp, N-G., Schweizer, T.F., DeVries, J.W. and Furda, I. [Soluble dietary fiber in foods]; 4. AOAC Method 991.43 (1992) - Lee, S.C., DeVries, J.W. and Prosky, L. [Total, soluble, and insoluble dietary fiber in foods]; 5. AOAC Method 992.16 (1993) - Mongeau, R. and Brassard, R.. [Total dietary fiber in foods]; 6. AOAC Method 993.21 (1994) - Li, B. and Cardozo, M.S. [Total dietary fiber in foods with little or no starch]; 7. AOAC Method 994.13 (1995) - Theander, 0., Aman, P., Westerlund, E., Andersson, R. and Pettersson, D. [Total dietary fiber in foods as the sum of neutral sugar residues, uronic acid residues and Klason lignin]; 8. AOAC Method 997.08 (1997) - Hoebregs, H. [Inulin and oligofructose]; 9. AOAC Method 999.03 (1999) - McCleary, B.V., Murphy, A., and Mugford, D.C. [Oligofructans and fructan oligosaccharides], 10. AOAC Method 2000. 1 1(2000) - Craig, S.A.S., Holden, J.F., and Khaled, M.J. [Polydextrose], 11.. AOAC Method 2001.02 (2001) - de Slegte, J. [Transgalactooligosaccharides], and 12. AOAC Method 2001.03 (2001) - Gordon, D.T. and Ohkuma, K. [Total dietary fiber and low molecular weight resistant maltodextrin] (2).

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This study was designed to investigate the effect of pectin on the composition of bile in total astrectomized rats. Rats were divided into the following three groups: sham-operated rats fed the pectin-free diet, gastrectomized rats fed the Pectin-free diet, and gastrectomized rats fed the Pectin-free diet supplemented with 5% pectin (Pectin diet). The rats were fed the respective test diet for 70 days. Between the two groups fed the Pectin-free diet, the bile flow, the biliary secretion of bile acid, cholesterol and phospholipid, the proportion of cholic acid (CA), the cholic acid/chenodeoxycholic acid (CDCA) (CA/CDCA) ratio, and the primary bile acids/secondary bile acids (P/S) ratio were higher in the bile in gastrectomized rats, but the proportions of CDCA, ursodeoxycholic acid and lithocholic acid in the bile were lower in gastrectomized rats than in sham-operated rats. The bile flow and the biliary secretions of bile acid, cholesterol and phospholipid did not vary between the two groups of gastrectomized rats. The proportion of CDCA in bile was significantly higher and the CA/CDCA ratio in bile was significantly lower in the gastrectomized rats fed Pectin diet, but the proportion of the deoxycholic acid in the bile was significantly lower in the gastrectomized rats fed the Pectin diet than in the gastrectomized rats fed the Pectin free-diet. The P/S ratio was not affected by the Pectin diet feeding. The results of this study suggest that pectin may reduce the lithogenicity of bile after gastrectomy by modifying the composition of bile acids in bile.

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The clinical effects of polydextrose administered at a daily dose of 7g for 10 days were examined in 92 patients with habitual constipation taking a laxative daily or irregularly. After the administration of polydextrose, 44(47.8%)of the 92 patients noted improvement in constipation. The frequency of defecation increased in 37(56.1 %)of 66 patients. The fecal proprieties improved 24(75.0%)of 32 patients having had hard stools. The effects of polydextrose was thus noted in 59(65.5%) of the 92 patients in total as (1) improvement in constipation, (2) increased frequency of defecation, (3) improved stool consistency, or (4) improvement in other bowel symptoms, or two or more of those. These results indicated a clinical effects of polydextrose for the treatment of habitual constipation.

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A lactobacillus beverage containing galactosylsucrose (LS) was ingested by healthy female students with constipation tendencies, and its influence on the defecation and fecal conditions were investigated. The test was conducted in five periodical stages. First, the subjects were allowed to ingest a lactobacillus beverage free of LS everyday for a week (Control period), and then for the next one week, the subjects were not allowed to ingest any lactobacillus beverages. Following the washout period, the subjects were allowed to ingest a lactobacillus beverage containing LS (2.5g) everyday for continuous two weeks (LS1W and LS2W periods), and then for the next one week, the subjects were not allowed to ingest any lactobacillus beverages. During the LS ingestion periods, defecation times and days are increased significantly (p<0.05) and fecal form are also improved significantly (p<0.05) in comparison with the control period.

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