Probiotics
full-term receiving formula supplemented with prebiotic blends however were more similar to those of breast-fed babies than those receiving unsupplemented formula.51
Diseases in the Elderly
Changes in gut microbiota, including reduced concentrations of bifidobacteria, are thought to contribute to disease susceptibility and severity in elderly people. Emerging evidence suggests that inulin-type fructans can boost bifidobacterial numbers in the elderly as well as in healthy younger adults, potentially improving disease resistance.51
Animal Nutrition
In several studies on domestic pets and agricultural livestock, the addition of NDOs including inulins produced health benefits. Such dietary supplements for animals that included wheat, wheat by-products, barley, and peanut shells were reported to improve the microbial ecology of the gut, control pathogenic bacteria, reduce fecal odor, and enhance growth performance.53–55
Other studies reported the presence of
reduced harmful chemicals in dog feces, particularly amines and phenols, after dietary supplementation with inulin compared with a standard meat-based diet.56
Potential Developments
The effects of prebiotic preparations on the balance between prebiotic efficacy and side-effects such as bloating—and ways to optimize them by adjusting the proportions of different NDOs—are currently under investigation.57,58
In vitro data have shown
requirements; for example, prebiotic efficacy may depend on the pre-existing gut microflora, particularly bifidobacterial populations.34,64 Identifying species that respond best to specific prebiotics also offers a potential approach to optimising outcomes, for example by combining selected fructans and bifidobacterial species in synbiotic preparations.18 In addition, evidence suggests that prebiotics may exert additional effects that are not mediated by increased bifidobacterial populations; the exact nature of these effects is unclear and warrant further research.64
Conclusions
Bifidobacteria are an important part of the human gut microflora, which offers a variety of both direct and indirect health benefits. Inulin and similar prebiotic preparations have strong bifidogenic effects in the human gut, including biofilm populations on the gut mucosa, which appear to be more functionally important than microbial populations living free in the gut lumen.
There is growing evidence to support the value of inulin-type prebiotics in reducing cardiovascular and cancer risk, in the management of IBD, and in improving health in old age. Adding prebiotics to infant milk formula may partially mimic the effects of HMOs in breastfed infants and help support establishment of favorable gut microbiota, with long-term health implications. Ongoing research offers potential improvements in both understanding and management of these and additional conditions. Prebiotics remain an area of great clinical interest and where much potential remains untapped. n
Individual bifidobacterial species and strains are adapted to preferentially ferment different oligosaccharides, and these characteristics may underlie varying effects on gut microflora and host health following ingestion of different NDOs.59
that adding polydextrose to oligofructose-enriched inulin or FOS reduced the production of gas, butyrate, and short-chain fatty acids, and bifidobacteria counts after 12 hours of fermentation.60
Mixing
galactooligosaccharide with oligofructose-enriched inulin or long-chain FOS boosted proliferation of bifidobacteria.60
There is evidence that beta-galactosidases derived from selected bifidobacterial species may produce galactooligosaccharide mixtures with improved bifidogenic effects compared with existing industrial processes.61
It is also possible
George C Fahey, Jr, PhD, is a Professor Emeritus of Animal Sciences at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and is the Kraft Foods Endowed Professor Emeritus of Nutritional Sciences. He has served on the faculty since August, 1976 and holds research, teaching, and administrative posts. Professor Fahey’s area of research is comparative nutrition, and his main focus is carbohydrate nutrition including work on dietary fibers, oligosaccharides, resistant starch, and novel polysaccharides. Species studied
Studies are also investigating the potential value of prebiotics from different sources, such as almonds, or durum wheat (insoluble fiber converted to soluble feruloyl oligosaccharides by enzymatic treatment), which can support lactobacteria and bifidobacteria.62,63
that future prebiotic supplements could be tailored to individual 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
Roberfroid M, Prebiotics: the concept revisited, J Nutr, 2007;137(3 Suppl. 2):830S–7S.
Eastwood M, Kritchevsky D, Dietary fiber: how did we get where we are?, Ann Rev Nutr, 2005;25:1–8.
Suter PM, Carbohydrates and dietary fiber, Handb Exp Pharmacol, 2005;(170):231–61.
Anderson JW, Baird P, Davis RH, Jr, et al., Health benefits of dietary fiber, Nutr Rev, 2009;67(4):188–205. Review.
US Department of Agriculture, National Agricultural Library and National Academy of Sciences, Institute of Medicine, Food and Nutrition Board Dietary Reference Intakes for Energy, Carbohydrate, fiber, Fat, Fatty Acids, Cholesterol, Protein, and Amino Acids (Macronutrients) (2005), Chapter
8. 9. 6. 7.
7: Dietary, Functional and Total fiber. Available at:
www.nal
.usda.gov/fnic/DRI//DRI_Energy/339-421.pdf (accessed November 2, 2010).
Cunningham E, Does Inulin Have the Same Health Benefits as Soluble Dietary Fiber?, J Am Dietetic Assoc, 2010;110:1588.
Institute of Medicine, Food and Nutrition Board, Dietary Reference Intakes: Energy, Carbohydrates, Fiber, Fat, Fatty Acids, Cholesterol, Protein, and Amino Acids, Washington, DC: National Academies Press, 2002.
Kelly G, Inulin-type prebiotics—a review: part 1, Altern Med Rev, 2008;13:315–29.
Van Loo J, Coussement P, de Leenheer L, et al., On the presence of inulin and oligofructose as natural ingredients
in the western diet, Crit Rev Food Sci Nutr, 1995;35:525–52.
10. Edelman J, Dickerson AG, The metabolism of lactose polymers in plants, Biochem J, 1966;98:787–94.
11. Marchetti, G. Chicory (Cichorium intybus) and Jerusalem artichoke (Helianthus tuberoses L.) as inulin sources, L Industria Saccarfera ltalinana, 1993;86;2:47–54.
12. Hendry G, Evolutionary origins and natural functions of fructans. A climatological, biogeographic and mechanistic appraisal, New Phytol, 1993;123:3–14.
13. Moshfegh AJ, Friday JE, Goldman JP, Ahuja JK, Presence of inulin and oligofructose in the diets of Americans, J Nutr, 1999;129(Suppl. 7):1407S–11S.
14. Gupta AK, Kaur N, Fructan storing plants—A potential
include human adults and infants, dogs, cats, swine, and laboratory rats. An overarching theme of the program is gastrointestinal tract health and the role of carbohydrates in the improvement of gut health indices. Glycemic control and its relationship to diabetes is another major area of study. Professor Fahey has advised nearly 90 students during the successful completion of their graduate degrees and post-doctoral positions. He serves on a number of editorial boards and on many grant review panels. He is a frequent speaker at both academic and industry events, and has published extensively in his research areas (over 300 refereed journal articles). He has won awards from his department, college, and university, as well as national and international awards. Professor Fahey attended West Virginia University, Morgantown, and received a BA in Biology, an MS in Agricultural Biochemistry, and a PhD in Animal Nutrition.
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