Question

Describe the likely breakdown of stachyose in the human stomach and intestines and how Beano could contribute to this process? What is the appropriate name of the active ingredient in Beano responsible for preventing flatulence?

Answer 1

Stachyose - Tetrasaccharide in nature having 2 D- galactose units followed by 1 D - glucose unit and 1 D- Fructose unit which are linked together.Stachyose also known as growth of beneficial intestinal bacteria, metabolite which is present largerly in milk and found in vegetables as well.(beasns& peas)

Breakdown of Stachyose - Stachyose which is tetrasaccharide in nature which is hydrolyzed to D- galactose & sucrose by the help of enzyme a- galactosidase (a- Gal)present in plants,which is an enzyme not found in human digestive tract as enzyme is not cleaved with β-inked galactose.

Beano -Beano, formed by enzyme based dietary supplement used to reduce flatulence produced by gas in human stomach.Makes Bodys digestion easy by breakingdown the complex carbohydrates into simpler form,making it more feasible and digestible.alpha-galactosidase is the active ingredient present in Beano present as natural enzymes.