Prebiotics as functional food ingredients preventing diet-related diseases

Abstract

This paper reviews the potential of prebiotic-containing foods in the prevention or postponement of certain diet-related diseases, such as cardiovascular diseases with hypercholesterolemia, osteoporosis, diabetes, gastrointestinal infections and gut inflammation. Also the data on prebiotics as food ingredients and their impact on food product quality are presented. Prebiotics are short chain carbohydrates that are resistant to the digestion process in the upper part of the digestive system, are not absorbed in any segment of the gastrointestinal system, and finally are selectively fermented by specific genera of colonic bacteria. The mechanisms of the beneficial impacts of prebiotics on human health are very difficult to specify directly, because their health-promoting functions are related to fermentation by intestinal microflora. The impact of prebiotics on diet-related diseases in many ways also depends on the products of their fermentation. Prebiotics as functional food ingredients also have an impact on the quality of food products, due to their textural and gelling properties. Prebiotics as food additives can be very valuable in the creation of functional food aimed at preventing or postponing many diet-related diseases. They additionally have beneficial technological properties which improve the quality of food products.

Microbial Medicine: Prebiotic and Probiotic Functional Foods to Target Obesity and Metabolic Syndrome

“…As aforementioned, prebiotic fibers serve as a useful metabolic substrate for intestinal microbes, which convert them via fermentation into SCFAs and other metabolites in the gut lumen. Dietary sources of prebiotics include asparagus, garlic, leeks, onions, bananas, Jerusalem artichoke, as well as chicory, wheat bran, and barley [92]. Some of the main classes of prebiotic fibers, which are generally distinguished based on source, degree of polymerization, and constituent moieties, are summarized in further detail in Table 1.…”

“…Isolation of prebiotics can be achieved via water extraction on plants such as chicory root (5%-15% inulin) and Jerusalem artichoke (up to 20% inulin). Alternatively, many prebiotic fibers can be produced on a large scale via enzymatic processing of simple and complex sugars [92]. For example, GOS is commercially synthesized from lactose via the action of β-galactosidases, whereas FOS can be manufactured from sucrose using a transfructosylation reaction or via enzymatic hydrolysis of inulin extract [131].…”

Gut Microbiota and Type 1 Diabetes

“…Moreover, zinc deficiency may promote the development of T1D via affecting the inflammatory response and impacting the metabolic control [ 79 ]. In addition, prebiotics via food additives elevate protective intestinal microbiota and improve the permeability of the intestinal barrier, thus helping to improve health and prevent the development of diet-related chronic diseases including diabetes [ 80 , 81 ]. Some selected prebiotics inhibit the glycemic response to maltose or sucrose by decreasing the activity of disaccharidase in the gut [ 81 ].…”

Efficient production of isomelezitose by a glucosyltransferase activity in Metschnikowia reukaufii cell extracts

“…), several physicochemical and biological properties would make them of interest for food, and biotechnological applications (Remaud-Simeon et al, 2000;Singla and Chakkaravarthi, 2017;Singh et al, 2017). For instance, the consumption of bioactive oligosaccharides is associated with an increase in calcium and magnesium absorption, the prevention of colon cancer and cardiovascular diseases, or even with the immune system improvement (Patel and Goyal, 2012;Florowska et al, 2016). Besides, oligosaccharides are frequently included in food and beverages as non-cariogenic ingredients, sugar substitutes or bulking agents (Crittenden and Playne, 1996;Kim et al, 2014).…”