Glossary

Carotene: Any of several red, crystalline carotenoid hydrocarbon pigments occuring widely in nature. C40H56

Choline: A basic hygrosopic substance constituting a vitamin of the B complex C5H15O2N

Colitis: An acute inflammation of the colon which could be caused by an immune response to certain foods including milk. The person suffers from diarrhoea, passing of blood and mucus, abdominal pain discomfort and fever.

Crohn's Disease: This is a chronic inflammation that may occur in any part of the gut. Also known as regional enteritis, granulomatous ileitis and ileocolitis. The inflammation usually occurs in the lower part of the small intestine (ileum) and the large intestine. It affects mainly teenagers. The symptoms include chronic diarrhoea, abdominal cramps pain, fever and loss of appetite.

Disaccharide: Any of the class of compound sugars which yield 2 monosaccharide units upon hydrolysis.

Eczema: An inflammation of the upper layers of the skin, causing blisters, redness, swelling, oozing, scabbing, scaling and usually itching.

Emulsifier: Material added to solid-in-liquid or liquid-in-liquid suspensions to separate the individual suspended particles.

Enzyme: An enzyme is a biological catalyst produced by cells to speed up the chemical reactions necessary for life. They are large complex proteins and are very specific, each chemical reaction requiring its own enzyme. The specificty of the enzyme is because of its active site, this is where a part of the sunstrate molecule slots together with the enzyme forming an enzyme/substrate complex. After the reaction takes place the enzyme is left unaltered.

Galactose: A monosaccharide occuring in both levo and dextro forms as a constituent of plant and animal oligosaccharides and polysaccharise. C6H12O6.

Glucose: A monosaccharide: occurs free or combined and is the most common sugar. C6H12O6.

Hives: Hives are an anaphylatic-type reaction limited to the skin and underlying tissues. This may be triggered by allergens or other agents or their cause maybe unknown. Hives appear as wheals, smooth, slighty rised areas that are redder or paler than the surrounding skin.

Hydrolyzation: Chemical decomposition or ionic dissociation caused by water.

Irritable Bowel Syndrome: People with IBS have a gut that is sensitive to certain allergens and causes abdominal pain, constipation or diarrhoea.

Lactase: This is an enzyme that will break lactose down to two simple sugars, glucose and galactose. Without this ezyme lactose is not broken down.

Lactose: This is the milk sugar present to all mammalian milk, lactose makes up 5% of cow's milk. Its is commercially prepared from the whey obtained in cheese making. Lactose is a disaccharide sugar consisting of 2 basic monosaccharides, glucose and galactose. Unlike sucrose it is tasteless.
The Lactose molecule is shown below

Lecithin: Any of a group of phospholipids having the general composition CH2OR1 - CHOR2 · CH2OPO - OHR3 in which R1 and R2 are fatty acids and R3 is choline, and with emulsifying, wetting and antioxidant properties.

Monosaccharide: A carbohydrate which cannot be hydrolyzed to a simpler carbohydrate.

Oligosaccharide: A sugar composed of two to eight monosaccharide units joined by glycosidic bonds. Also known as compound sugars.

Phospholipid: Any of a class of phosphoric acid containing one or two molecules of fatty acid, an alcohol, and a nitrogenous base.

Polysaccharide: A carbohydrate composed of many monosaccharides

Soybean: An erect annual legume natural to China and Manchuria and widley cultivated for forage and for its seed. Latin name Glycine max.


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The page was last updated Wednesday, 07-May-2008 23:48:09 GMT