# Dextrin

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Group of low-molecular-weight carbohydrates

Not to be confused with [Dextran](/source/Dextran).

Dextrin Identifiers CAS Number 9004-53-9 Y ChemSpider none ECHA InfoCard 100.029.693 E number E1400 (additional chemicals) KEGG C00721 Y PubChem CID 62698 UNII 2NX48Z0A9G Y CompTox Dashboard (EPA) DTXSID20891750 Properties Chemical formula (C6H10O5)n Molar mass variable Appearance white or yellow powder Except where otherwise noted, data are given for materials in their standard state (at 25 °C [77 °F], 100 kPa). N verify (what is YN ?) Infobox references

Chemical compound

**Dextrins** are a group of low-molecular-weight [carbohydrates](/source/Carbohydrate) produced by the [hydrolysis](/source/Hydrolysis) of [starch](/source/Starch)[1] and [glycogen](/source/Glycogen).[2] Dextrins are mixtures of [polymers](/source/Polymer) of D-[glucose](/source/Glucose) units linked by α-(1→4) or α-(1→6) [glycosidic bonds](/source/Glycosidic_bonds).

Dextrins can be produced from starch using [enzymes](/source/Enzyme) like [amylases](/source/Amylase), as during digestion in the human body and during [malting](/source/Malt#Malting) and [mashing](/source/Mashing) in beer brewing[3] or by applying dry heat under acidic conditions ([pyrolysis](/source/Pyrolysis) or [roasting](/source/Roasting)). This procedure was first discovered in 1811 by [Edme-Jean Baptiste Bouillon-Lagrange](/source/Edme-Jean_Baptiste_Bouillon-Lagrange).[4] The latter process is used industrially, and also occurs on the surface of [bread](/source/Bread) during the baking process, contributing to flavor, color and crispness. Dextrins produced by heat are also known as **pyrodextrins**. Starch hydrolyses during roasting under acidic conditions, and short-chained starch parts partially rebranch with α-(1,6) bonds to the degraded starch molecule.[5] See also [Maillard reaction](/source/Maillard_reaction).

Dextrins are white, yellow, or brown powders that are partially or fully water-soluble, yielding [optically active](/source/Optical_rotation) solutions of low [viscosity](/source/Viscosity). Most of them can be detected with [iodine solution](/source/Iodine_test), giving a red coloration; one distinguishes erythrodextrin (dextrin that colours red) and achrodextrin (giving no colour).

White and yellow dextrins from starch roasted with little or no acid are called **British gum**.

A dextrin with α-(1→4) and α-(1→6) [glycosidic bonds](/source/Glycosidic_bond)

## Uses

Yellow dextrins are used as water-soluble [glues](/source/Glue)[6] in remoistenable envelope adhesives and paper tubes, in the mining industry as additives in [froth flotation](/source/Froth_flotation), in the [foundry](/source/Foundry) industry as [green strength](/source/Green_strength) additives in [sand casting](/source/Sand_casting), as [printing thickener](/source/Textile_printing) for [batik](/source/Batik) [resist dyeing](/source/Resist_dyeing), and as binders in [gouache](/source/Gouache) paint and also in the leather industry.

White dextrins are used as:

- A crispness enhancer for [food processing](/source/Food_processing), in food batters, coatings, and [glazes](/source/Glaze_(cooking_technique)), ([INS number](/source/International_Numbering_System_for_Food_Additives) 1400)

- a [textile finishing](/source/Textile_finishing) and coating agent to increase weight and stiffness of textile fabrics[*[citation needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed)*]

- a thickening and binding agent in [pharmaceuticals](/source/Pharmaceutical) and [paper coatings](/source/Coated_paper)[*[citation needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed)*]

- a [pyrotechnic binder and fuel](/source/Pyrotechnic_composition); this is added to [firework](/source/Firework) effect or color compositions; allowing them to solidify as pellets (stars or comets); and to [sparkler](/source/Sparkler) compositions which the handle is dipped in[*[citation needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed)*]

- a stabilizing agent for certain explosive metal [azides](/source/Azide), particularly [Lead(II) azide](/source/Lead(II)_azide)[*[citation needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed)*]

Owing to their rebranching, dextrins are less digestible than other carbohydrates. Indigestible dextrins have been developed as soluble stand-alone [fiber supplements](/source/Fiber_supplement) and for adding to processed food products.[7]

## Other types

- Maltodextrin

Main article: [Maltodextrin](/source/Maltodextrin)

Maltodextrin is a short-chain [starch](/source/Starch) sugar used as a [food additive](/source/Food_additive). It is also produced by enzymatic hydrolysis from gelled starch, and is usually found as a creamy-[white](/source/White) [hygroscopic](/source/Hygroscopic) spray-dried powder. Maltodextrin is easily digestible, being absorbed as rapidly as [glucose](/source/Glucose), and might either be moderately [sweet](/source/Sweet) or have hardly any flavor at all.

- Cyclodextrin

Main article: [Cyclodextrin](/source/Cyclodextrin)

The cyclical dextrins are known as cyclodextrins. They are formed by [enzymatic](/source/Enzymatic) degradation of starch by certain [bacteria](/source/Bacteria),[8] for example, *[Paenibacillus macerans](/source/Paenibacillus_macerans)* (*Bacillus macerans*). Cyclodextrins have toroidal structures formed by 6–8 [glucose](/source/Glucose) residues.

- Amylodextrin is a linear dextrin or short chained [amylose](/source/Amylose) ([DP](/source/Degree_of_polymerization) 20-30) that can be produced by enzymatic hydrolysis of the alpha-1,6 glycosidic bonds or debranching amylopectin. Amylodextrin colors blue with iodine.

- (Beta) Limit dextrin is the remaining polymer produced by enzymatic hydrolysis of [amylopectin](/source/Amylopectin) with beta [amylase](/source/Amylase), which cannot hydrolyse the alpha-1,6 bonds at branch points.

- (Alpha) Limit dextrin is a short chained branched amylopectin remnant, produced by hydrolysis of amylopectin with alpha amylase.

- Highly branched cyclic dextrin is a dextrin produced from enzymatic breaking of the amylopectin in clusters and using branching enzyme to form large cyclic chains.[9]

## See also

- [Brewing](/source/Brewing) – Process in beer production

- [Cellodextrin](/source/Cellodextrin) – Glucose polymers

- [Dextrose equivalent](/source/Dextrose_equivalent) – Amount of reducing sugars in a sugar product

- [Icodextrin](/source/Icodextrin) – Pharmaceutical drug

- [Modified starch](/source/Modified_starch) – Thickening agent

- [Starch gelatinization](/source/Starch_gelatinization) – Process of breaking down the intermolecular bonds of starch by water

## References

1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** An Introduction to the chemistry of plants - Vol II: Metabolic processes, P. Haas and T. G. Hill, London (Longmans, Green & Co.), 1913; pages 123-127

1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** Salway, JG. Medical Biochemistry at a Glance. Second Edition. Malden, MA (Blackwell Publishing), 2006; page 66

1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** Michael Lewis, Tom W. Young (2002), "Brewing", Kluwer Academic, [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [0-306-47274-0](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-306-47274-0).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** [Edme-Jean-Baptiste Bouillon-Lagrange, Revista CENIC Ciencias Biológicas, Vol. 44, No. 1, mayo-agosto, 2013](https://www.researchgate.net/publication/255731408_Edme-Jean-Baptiste_Bouillon-Lagrange)

1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** Alistair M. Stephen, Glyn O. Phillips, Peter A. Williams (2006), "Food polysaccharides and their applications 2nd edition", p 92-99, CRC Press, Taylor & Francis Group, [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [0-8247-5922-2](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-8247-5922-2)

1. **[^](#cite_ref-6)** *Industrial uses of starch and its derivatives*. London: Applied Science Publ. 1976. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [0-85334-691-7](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-85334-691-7).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-7)** ["Types of Fiber and Their Health Benefits (on WebMD)"](http://www.webmd.com/diet/fiber-health-benefits-11/compare-dietary-fibers). *WebMD*.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-8)** Wüpper, Svenja; Lüersen, Kai; Rimbach, Gerald (2021-03-09). ["Cyclodextrins, Natural Compounds, and Plant Bioactives—A Nutritional Perspective"](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7998733). *Biomolecules*. **11** (3): 401. [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.3390/biom11030401](https://doi.org/10.3390%2Fbiom11030401). [ISSN](/source/ISSN_(identifier)) [2218-273X](https://search.worldcat.org/issn/2218-273X). [PMC](/source/PMC_(identifier)) [7998733](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7998733). [PMID](/source/PMID_(identifier)) [33803150](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33803150).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-9)** T. Hiroki, K. Iwao, T. Noboru, S. Yuji, Y. Mikio, Journal: Seibutsu Kogakkaishi, Vol:84; No:2; Page: 61-66 (2006), Industrial Production of Branching Enzyme and Its Application to Production of Highly Branched Cyclic Dextrin (Cluster Dextrin)[\[1\]](http://sciencelinks.jp/j-east/article/200607/000020060706A0166024.php) [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20120229033437/http://sciencelinks.jp/j-east/article/200607/000020060706A0166024.php) 2012-02-29 at the [Wayback Machine](/source/Wayback_Machine)

## External links

Look up ***[dextrin](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Special:Search/dextrin)*** in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

- ["Dextrin"](https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Encyclop%C3%A6dia_Britannica,_Ninth_Edition/Dextrin). *[Encyclopædia Britannica](/source/Encyclop%C3%A6dia_Britannica)*. Vol. VII (9th ed.). 1878. p. 146.

- [Dextrins](https://meshb.nlm.nih.gov/record/ui?name=Dextrins) at the U.S. National Library of Medicine [Medical Subject Headings](/source/Medical_Subject_Headings) (MeSH)

- [EAFUS](https://web.archive.org/web/20070701050826/http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/eafus.html)

v t e Types of carbohydrates General Aldose Ketose Furanose Pyranose Geometry Anomer Cyclohexane conformation Epimer Mutarotation Monosaccharides Dioses Aldodiose Glycolaldehyde Trioses Aldotriose Glyceraldehyde Ketotriose Dihydroxyacetone Tetroses Aldotetroses Erythrose Threose Ketotetrose Erythrulose Pentoses Aldopentoses Arabinose Lyxose Ribose Xylose Ketopentoses Ribulose Xylulose Deoxy sugars Deoxyribose Hexoses Aldohexoses Allose Altrose Galactose Glucose Gulose Idose Mannose Talose Ketohexoses Fructose Psicose Sorbose Tagatose Deoxy sugars Fucose Fuculose Rhamnose Heptoses Ketoheptoses Mannoheptulose Sedoheptulose Above 7 Octoses Nonoses Neuraminic acid Multiple Disaccharides Cellobiose Isomaltose Isomaltulose Lactose Lactulose Maltose Sucrose Trehalose Turanose Trisaccharides Maltotriose Melezitose Raffinose Tetrasaccharides Stachyose Other oligosaccharides Acarbose Fructooligosaccharide (FOS) Galactooligosaccharide (GOS) Isomaltooligosaccharide (IMO) Maltodextrin Polysaccharides Beta-glucan Oat beta-glucan Lentinan Sizofiran Zymosan Cellulose Chitin Chitosan Dextrin / Dextran Fructose / Fructan Inulin Galactose / Galactan Glucose / Glucan Glycogen Hemicellulose Levan beta 2→6 Lignin Mannan Pectin Starch Amylopectin Amylose Xanthan gum Category Commons

Authority control databases International GND National United States France BnF data Japan Czech Republic Spain Israel Other Yale LUX

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Dextrin](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dextrin) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dextrin?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.