Author: Glossary
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Gluten-free foods
Formulated without any wheat or rye protein (although the starch may be used) for people suffering from coeliac disease.
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Gluten
The protein complex in wheat, and to a lesser extent rye, which gives dough the viscid property that holds gas when it rises. There is none in oats, barley, or maize. It is a mixture of two proteins, gliadin and glutelin. Allergy to, or intolerance of, gliadin gluten is coeliac disease. Protein from the endosperm…
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Glutathione reductase
Enzyme in red blood cells for which flavin adenine dinucleotide (FAD; derived from vitamin B2) is the essential cofactor. It converts oxidised to reduced glutathione, with reduced nicotinamide dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH) as co-substrate. Activation of this enzyme in vitro from red cell extracts by added FAD provides a means of assessing vitamin B2 nutritional status,…
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Glucuronides
A variety of compounds are metabolised by conjugation with glucuronic acid to yield water-soluble derivatives for excretion from the body. The combination of glucuronic acid with phenol, alcohol, or any acid containing the carboxyl, COOH, group.
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Glucosides
Complexes of substances with glucose. The general name for such complexes with other sugars is glycosides. A plant compound containing a glucose and another substance, the bioactive part. A special-case glycoside. A glycoside that on hydrolysis yields a sugar, glucose, and one or two additional products. Glucosides are numerous and widely distributed in plants. Many…
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Glucose tolerance factor (GTF)
An organic complex containing chromium. A chromium-containing compound that enhances the function of insulin and helps regulate glucose metabolism.
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Glucose syrup
A type of glucose polymer. A syrup that cannot be crystallized, created by the partial transformation of starch into glucose, a type of sugar that exists naturally as dextrose and has a sweetness level that is only approximately half that of cane sugar.
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Glucose polymers
Oligosaccharides of glucose linked with alpha 1,4 and alpha 1,6 glycosidic links. Glucose polymers (or maltodextrins) are relatively short chains of glucose units linked by glycosidic bonds. Glucose polymers are produced by partial hydrolysis of starch molecules, which contain many more glucose units linked together. Although current evidence suggests that glucose polymers offer no advantage…
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Glucosan
A general term for polysaccharides of glucose, such as starch, cellulose, and glycogen.
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Gluco-oligosaccharide
A non-digestible oligosaccharide of glucose containing alpha 1,2 and alpha 1,6 glycosidic links.