fructooligosaccharide and 4--galactooligosaccharide

The WHO refers to human milk as the nutritional gold standard for term infants. Human milk contains many immunomodulatory compounds, including oligosaccharides. Human-milk oligosaccharides can serve as prebiotics because the nondigestible oligosaccharides present in human milk show a clear bifidogenic effect on the gut microbiota. Dietary oligosaccharide structures that have prebiotic effects similar to human-milk oligosaccharides include galacto-oligosaccharides, fructo-oligosaccharides, and pectin-derived acidic oligosaccharides. Both animal studies and human clinical trials showed that dietary intervention with these dietary oligosaccharides in early life could lead to the prevention of atopic dermatitis, food allergy, and allergic asthma. The immune-modulating effects of these oligosaccharides are likely assisted via alteration of the intestinal microbiota or in a microbiota-independent manner by direct interaction on immune cells or both. In this review, an overview of the prebiotic role of dietary oligosaccharides on the microbiota and the microbiota-independent immune modulation by these prebiotics is provided. In addition, recent publications that report on the pathways by which the oligosaccharides might exert their direct immunomodulatory effect are summarized.

Topics: Animals; Asthma; Clinical Trials as Topic; Dermatitis, Atopic; Diet; Food Hypersensitivity; Gastrointestinal Tract; Humans; Immunologic Factors; Infant; Metagenome; Milk, Human; Models, Animal; Oligosaccharides; Prebiotics; Probiotics; Trisaccharides

Human milk is generally accepted as the best nutrition for newborns and has been shown to support the optimal growth and development of infants. On the basis of scientific insights from human-milk research, a specific mixture of nondigestible oligosaccharides has been developed, with the aim to improve the intestinal microbiota in early life. The mixture has been extensively studied and has been shown to be safe and to have potential health benefits that are similar to those of human milk. The specific mixture of short-chain galacto-oligosaccharides and long-chain fructo-oligosaccharides has been found to affect the development of early microbiota and to increase the Bifidobacterium amounts as observed in human-milk-fed infants. The resulting gut ecophysiology is characterized by high concentrations of lactate, a slightly acidic pH, and specific short-chain fatty acid profiles, which are high in acetate and low in butyrate and propionate. Here, we have summarized the main findings of dietary interventions with these specific oligosaccharides on the gut microbiota in early life. The gut ecophysiology in early life may have consequences for the metabolic, immunologic, and even neurologic development of the child because reports increasingly substantiate the important function of gut microbes in human health. This review highlights major findings in the field of early gut colonization and the potential impact of early nutrition in healthy growth and development.

Topics: Bifidobacterium; Child Development; Fatty Acids, Volatile; Humans; Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; Infant; Infant Formula; Infant, Newborn; Intestines; Metagenome; Milk, Human; Oligosaccharides; Prebiotics; Trisaccharides

Prebiotic-containing infant formula may beneficially affect gastrointestinal tolerance and commensal microbiota composition.. Assess gastrointestinal tolerance and fecal microbiota, pH, and short-chain fatty acid (SCFA) concentrations of infants consuming formula with or without prebiotics.. Full-term formula-fed infants were studied to a breastfed comparison group (BF). Formula-fed infants (FF) were randomized to consume a partially hydrolyzed whey formula with (PRE) or without (CON) 4 g/L of galacto-oligosaccharides and fructo-oligosaccharides (9:1). Fecal bacteria, pH, and SCFA were assessed at baseline, 3 weeks, and 6 weeks. Caregivers of patients recorded stool characteristics and behavior for 2 days before the 3- and 6-week visits.. Feces from infants fed PRE had a higher absolute number (P = .0083) and proportion (P = .0219) of bifidobacteria than CON-fed infants and did not differ from BF. BF had a higher proportion of bifidobacteria than CON (P = .0219) and lower number of Clostridium difficile than FF (P = .0087). Feces from formula-fed infants had higher concentrations of acetate (P < .001), butyrate (P < .001), propionate (P < .001), and total SCFAs (P = .0230) than BF; however, fecal pH was lower (P = .0161) in PRE and BF than CON. Prebiotic supplementation did not alter stool patterns, tolerance, or growth. BF had more frequent stools that were yellow (P < .0001) and more often liquid than FF (P < .0001).. Infant formula containing the studied oligosaccharides was well tolerated, increased abundance and proportion of bifidobacteria, and reduced fecal pH in healthy infants.

Topics: Bifidobacterium; Clostridioides difficile; Dietary Supplements; Double-Blind Method; Fatty Acids, Volatile; Feces; Gastrointestinal Tract; Humans; Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; In Situ Hybridization, Fluorescence; Infant; Infant Formula; Metagenome; Oligosaccharides; Prebiotics; Prospective Studies; Trisaccharides

Iron is essential for development and growth in young children; unfortunately, iron deficiency (ID) is a significant public health problem in this population. Young Child Formulae (YCF), milk-derived products fortified with iron and ascorbic acid (AA, an enhancer of iron absorption) may be good sources of iron to help prevent ID. Furthermore, some YCF are supplemented with prebiotics, non-digestible carbohydrates suggested to enhance iron bioavailability. The aim of our study was to evaluate iron bioavailability of YCF relative to prebiotic and AA concentrations. We hypothesised that YCF with the highest levels of prebiotics and AA would have the most bioavailable iron.. We used the in vitro digestion/Caco-2 cell model to measure iron bioavailability from 4 commercially available YCF with approximately equal amounts of iron, but varying amounts of: AA and the prebiotics fructo- and galacto-oligosaccharides. Caco-2 cell ferritin formation was used as a surrogate marker for iron bioavailability.. The YCF with the highest concentration of prebiotics and AA had the highest iron bioavailability; conversely, the YCF with the lowest concentration of prebiotics and AA had the lowest. After the addition of exogenous prebiotics, so that all tested YCF had equivalent amounts, there was no longer a significant difference between YCF iron bioavailability.. Our results suggest that ascorbic acid and prebiotics in YCF improve iron bioavailability. Ensuring that iron is delivered in a bioavailable form would improve the nutritional benefits of YCF in relation to ID/IDA amongst young children; therefore, further exploration of our findings in vivo is warranted.

Topics: Ascorbic Acid; Biomarkers; Caco-2 Cells; Child Nutritional Physiological Phenomena; Child, Preschool; Digestion; Enterocytes; Ferritins; Foods, Specialized; Hot Temperature; Humans; Infant; Infant Formula; Infant Nutritional Physiological Phenomena; Intestinal Absorption; Iron, Dietary; Nutritive Value; Oligosaccharides; Prebiotics; Trisaccharides

Modulation of the human gut microbiota has proven to have beneficial effects on host health. The aim of this work was to evaluate the effect of sun-dried raisins (SR) on the composition of the human gut microbiota. A full model of the gastrointestinal tract, which includes simulated mastication, a dynamic gastric model, a duodenal model and a colonic model of the human large intestine, was used. An increase in the numbers of bifidobacteria and lactobacilli was observed by plate-counting in response to the addition of either SR or FOS after 8 and 24 h fermentation. A significant decrease in Firmicutes and Bacteroidetes was observed in SR samples after 8 and 24 h fermentation. FOS resulted in the greatest production of short chain fatty acids. Sun-dried raisins demonstrated considerable potential to promote the colonization and proliferation of beneficial bacteria in the human large intestine and to stimulate the production of organic acids.

Topics: Bifidobacterium; Digestion; Fatty Acids, Volatile; Fermentation; Food, Preserved; Fruit; Gastrointestinal Microbiome; Gastrointestinal Tract; Humans; Lactobacillus; Models, Biological; Monte Carlo Method; Oligosaccharides; Prebiotics; Principal Component Analysis; Trisaccharides; Vitis

We wished to clarify the inaccuracy of AOAC method 2009.01 for the measurement of non-digestible oligosaccharides and to propose an improved method using porcine intestinal enzymes. Amyloglucosidase used in AOAC method 2009.01 scarcely hydrolyses sucrose, palatinose and panose (which are readily digested by intestinal enzymes). Hence, oligosaccharides could not be measured accurately by AOAC method 2009.01. To confirm the inaccuracy of the method, we used porcine intestinal enzymes instead of amyloglucosidase. Using the improved method, fructooligosaccharide and galactooligosaccharide were measured accurately as non-digestible oligosaccharides, but sucrose, palatinose, panose and isomaltooligosaccharide were not. The improved method hydrolysed digestible oligosaccharides into monosaccharides. These results demonstrate that the inaccuracy of AOAC method 2009.01 for oligosaccharide measurement is due to incomplete hydrolysis by amyloglucosidase. We propose that amyloglucosidase should be replaced with porcine intestinal enzymes for such measurements.

Topics: Animals; Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid; Dietary Fiber; Food Analysis; Glucan 1,4-alpha-Glucosidase; Glucans; Hydrolysis; Intestine, Small; Isomaltose; Oligosaccharides; Sucrose; Swine; Trisaccharides