April 7/Rosario, Argentina/Food & Farm Week -- "The prevalence of obesity and its associated health problems is rising to epidemic proportions throughout the world. Soy hulls, an industrial waste from oil extraction, contain a high proportion of fiber -- soluble and insoluble -- and may be a potential ingredient of functional foods for the prevention of obesity," investigators in Rosario, Argentina, report.
"However, crude soybeans, as do all legumes, present challenges to their use because of intensive antitrypsin and antichimotrypsin activity that impairs normal growth in humans and other mammals, requiring inactivation. To evaluate possible antinutritional effects of soybean hulls, diets with 10% fiber from soybean hulls or cellulose were offered to weanling IIMb/Beta obese rats during their prepubertal timeframe," wrote M.C. Olguin and colleagues.