Konjac is a kind of perennial herbaceous herb. It is a Amorphophallus plant. The konjac tubers contain a significant quantity of on-absorb polysaccharide with special properties (dietary fiber, gelatinizing, intestine cleaning agent, cholesterol and blood sugar reducing) called Konjacmannan or more correctly: Glucomannan which is separated into glucose and mannose by hydrolysis. The fresh Konjac tubers (Original Shaanxi) contain an average of Protein: 9.7%,Total glycoprotein:16.4%,Ash:7.0%, Glucomannan: 5.6%, Moisture: 65-78%.
Glucomannan is a water-soluble dietary fiber thats derived from konjac root (Amorphophallus konjac). It's a high molecular weight polysacch-aride consisting primarily of mannose and glucose sugars.Glucomannan can not only absorb up to 200 times its weight in water but also creat a highly viscous gel from 20,000 to 40,000 cp and form a reversible or a thermo-non-reversible gel.
Konjac glucomannan (KGM) is a water-soluble dietary fiber that is similar to pectin in structure and function.KGM is a high molecular polysaccharide, is formed when the residues of glucose and mannose are bound together by β-1,4-linkages,the molar ratio of glucose and mannose is 1:1.6. Acetyl groups are located on every 9-19th sugar unit. These acetyl groups contribute to the solubility and gelling properties. If the acetyl groups are removed under mild alkaline conditions, the molecule will produce heat stable gels.The molecular weight of KGM from 200,000 to 2,000,000 varied by konjac species or variety, processing method and even storage time of the raw material.
