Prebiotic (nutrition)

For information about foods and dietary supplements with potentially beneficial bacteria, see Probiotic.

Prebiotics are a category of functional food, defined as: Non digestible food ingredients, that beneficially affect the host by selectively stimulating the growth and/or activity of one or a limited number of bacteria in the colon, and thus improve host health.

Most potential prebiotics are carbohydrates (such as oligosaccharides), but the definition does not exclude the use of non-carbohydrates as prebiotics.

The definition does not emphasize a specific bacterial group. Often, however, it is assumed that a prebiotic should increase the number and/or activity of bifidobacteria and lactic acid bacteria, as these groups of bacteria are claimed to have several beneficial effects on the host. A product that stimulates (or claims to stimulate) bifidobacteria is considered a bifidogenic factor. Some prebiotics may thus also act as a bifidogenic factor and vice versa, but the two concepts are not identical.

Typical dietary sources of prebiotics are Jerusalem artichokes, which contain inulin, raw oats, and unrefined wheat or barley. The prebiotic oligosaccharides that naturally occur in breast milk are believed to play an important role in the development of a healthy immune system in infants.

Prebiotic oligosaccharides may be added to processed foods. Some prebiotics that are used in this manner are fructooligosaccharides (FOS), xylooligosaccharides (XOS), and galactooligosaccharides.

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See also

• Fructan

External links

• The Paleobiotics Lab
• Intelligent Nutrition
• More reading on prebiotics: Food-Info.net on prebiotics and bifidogenic factors
• International Scientific Association for Probiotics and Prebiotics