Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-s2hrs Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-13T10:11:37.832Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Functional food properties of non-digestible oligosaccharides: a consensus report from the ENDO project (DGXII AIRII-CT94-1095)

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 March 2007

Jan Van Loo ,
John Cummings ,
Nathalie Delzenne ,
Hans Englyst ,
Anne Franck ,
Mark Hopkins ,
Nadine Kok ,
George Macfarlane ,
Dorothy Newton  and
Michael Quigley
...Show all authors
Jan Van Loo*
Affiliation:
ORAFTI, Aandorenstraat 1, B3300 Tienen, Belgium
John Cummings
Affiliation:
Dunn Clinical Nutrition Centre, Hills Rd, Cambridge CB2 2DH, UK
Nathalie Delzenne
Affiliation:
Catholic University Louvain, Brussels, Belgium
Hans Englyst
Affiliation:
Dunn Clinical Nutrition Centre, Hills Rd, Cambridge CB2 2DH, UK
Anne Franck
Affiliation:
ORAFTI, Aandorenstraat 1, B3300 Tienen, Belgium
Mark Hopkins
Affiliation:
Dunn Clinical Nutrition Centre, Hills Rd, Cambridge CB2 2DH, UK
Nadine Kok
Affiliation:
Catholic University Louvain, Brussels, Belgium
George Macfarlane
Affiliation:
Dunn Clinical Nutrition Centre, Hills Rd, Cambridge CB2 2DH, UK
Dorothy Newton
Affiliation:
Dunn Clinical Nutrition Centre, Hills Rd, Cambridge CB2 2DH, UK
Michael Quigley
Affiliation:
Dunn Clinical Nutrition Centre, Hills Rd, Cambridge CB2 2DH, UK
Marcel Roberfroid
Affiliation:
Catholic University Louvain, Brussels, Belgium
Trinette van Vliet
Affiliation:
TNO, Zeist, The Netherlands
Ellen van den Heuvel
Affiliation:
TNO, Zeist, The Netherlands
*
*Corresponding author: Dr Jan Van Loo, fax +32 16 801308, email jvl@rafti.eunet.be
Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.

This paper results from the final phase of the ENDO project (DGXII AIRII-CT94-1095), a European Commission-funded project on non-digestible oligosaccharides (NDO). All participants in the programme met to perform a consensus exercise on the possible functional food properties of NDO. Topics studied during the project (including a workshop on probiotics and prebiotics) and related aspects, for which considerable evidence has been generated recently, were evaluated on the basis of existing published scientific evidence. There was a general consensus that: (1) there is strong evidence for a prebiotic effect of NDO in human subjects. A prebiotic effect was defined as a food-induced increase in numbers and/or activity predominantly of bifidobacteria and lactic acid bacteria in the human large intestine; (2) there is strong evidence for the impact that NDO have on bowel habit; (3) there is promising evidence that consumption of inulin-type fructans may result in increased Ca absorption in man; (4) there are preliminary indications that inulin-type fructans interact with the functioning of lipid metabolism; (5) there is preliminary evidence in experimental animals of a preventive effect against colon cancer. Human nutrition studies are needed to substantiate these findings. It was concluded that the nutritional properties of NDO may prove to be a key issue in nutritional research in the future.

Keywords

Functional foodsNon-digestible oligosaccharidesPrebiotics
Type
Research Article
Information
British Journal of Nutrition , Volume 81 , Issue 2 , February 1999 , pp. 121 - 132
Copyright
Copyright © The Nutrition Society 1999

References

Alamowitch, C, Slama, G & Bornet, F (1993) Effects of products of dietary fiber fermentation, short-chain fatty acids, on sugar and lipid metabolism Journées Annuels de Diabetologie, Hotel-Dieu, 245–259.Google ScholarPubMed
Alles, MS, de Roos, NM, Bakx, JC, van de Lisdonk, E & Hautvast, JGA (1998 a) Consumption of fructo-oligosaccharides does not affect blood glucose and serum lipids in non-insulin dependent diabetic subjects American Journal of Clinical Nutrition (In the Press).Google Scholar
Alles, MS, Hartemink, R, Meyboom, S, Harryvan, JK, van Laere, KMJ, Nagengast, FM & Hautvast, JGAJ (1998 b) Effect of transgalacto-oligosaccharides on composition and activity of the intestinal flora American Journal of Clinical Nutrition (In the Press).Google Scholar
Ammeraal, RN, Delgado, GA, Tenbarge, FL & Friedman, RB (1991) High-performance anion-exchange chromatography with pulsed amperometric detection of linear and branched glucose oligosaccharides. Carbohydrate Research 215, 179–192.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Baba, S, Ohta, A, Ohtsuki, M, Takizawa, T, Adachi, T & Hara, H (1996) Fructooligosaccharides stimulate the absorption of magnesium from the hindgut in rats. Nutrition Research 16, 657–666.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bouhnik, Y, Flourié, B, Andrieux, C, Bisetti, N, Briet, F & Rambaud, JC (1996 a) Effects of Bifidobacterium sp fermented milk ingestion with or without inulin on colonic bifidobacteria and enzymatic activities in healthy humans. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition 50, 269–273.Google ScholarPubMed
Bouhnik, Y, Flourié, B, D'Agay-bensour, L, Pochart, P, Gramet, G, Durand, M & Rambaud, JC (1997) Administration of transgalacto-oligosaccharides increases fecal bifidobacteria and modifies colonic fermentation metabolism in healthy humans. Journal of Nutrition 127, 444–448.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bouhnik, Y, Flourié, B, Riottot, M, Bisetti, N, Gailing, M, Guibert, A, Bornet, FR & Rambaud, J (1996 b) Effects of fructo-oligosaccharides ingestion on fecal bifidobacteria and selected metabolic indexes of colon carcinogenesis in healthy humans. Nutrition and Cancer 26, 21–29.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Buddington, RK, Williams, CH, Chen, S & Witherly, SA (1996) Dietary supplement of neosugar alters the fecal flora and decreases activities of some reductive enzymes in human subjects. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 63, 709–716.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Campbell, JM, Fahey, GCJ & Wolf, BW (1997) Selected indigestible oligosaccharides affect large bowel mass, cecal and fecal short-chain fatty acids, pH and microflora in rats. Journal of Nutrition 127, 130–136.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Canzi, E, Brighenti, FB, Casiraghi, MC, Del Puppo, E & Ferrari, A (1995) Prolonged consumption of inulin in ready-to-eat breakfast: effect on intestinal ecosystem, bowel habits and lipid metabolism. In COST 92, Workshop. Dietary Fiber and Fermentation in the Colon, Helsinki, pp. 280–284. Luxembourg: Office for Official Publications of the European Communities.Google Scholar
Cherbut, C, Desravannes, S, Schnee, M, Rival, M, Galmiche, J & Delortlaval, J (1994) Involvement of small intestinal motility in blood glucose response to dietary fibre in man. British Journal of Nutrition 71, 675–685.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Chonan, O & Watanuki, M (1995) Effect of galactooligosaccharides on calcium absorption in rats. Journal of Nutritional Science and Vitaminology 41, 95–104.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Clydesdale, FM (1997) A proposal for the establishment of scientific criteria for health claims for functional foods. Nutrition Reviews 55, 413–423.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Coudray, C, Bellanger, J, Castiglia-Delavaud, C, Rémésy, C, Vermorel, M & Rayssiguier, Y (1997) Effect of soluble or partly soluble dietary fibres supplementation on absorption and balance of calcium, magnesium, iron and zinc in healthy young men. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition 51, 375–380.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Cummings, JH, Roberfroid, MB, Andersson, H, Barth, CA, FerroLuzzi, A, Ghoos, Y, Gibney, MJ, Hermonsen, K, James, WPT, Korver, O, Lairon, D, Pascal, G & Voragen, AGS (1997) A new look at dietary carbohydrate: chemistry, physiology and health. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition 51, 417–423.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Davidson, MH, Maki, KC, Synecki, C, Torri, SA & Drennan, KB (1998) Evaluation of the influence of dietary inulin on serum lipids in adults with hypercholesterolemia. Nutrition Research 18, 503–517.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Delzenne, N, Aertssens, J, Verplaetse, N, Roccaro, M & Roberfroid, M (1995) Effect of fermentable fructo-oligosaccharides on energy and nutrients absorption in the rat. Life Science 57, 1579–1587.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Delzenne, NM, Kok, N, Fiordaliso, MF, Deboyser, DM, Goethals, FM & Roberfroid, MB (1993) Dietary fructooligosaccharides modify lipid metabolism. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 57, Suppl. 5, S820.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Djouzi, Z & Andrieux, C (1997) Compared effects of three oligosaccharides on metabolism of intestinal microflora in rats inoculated with a human faecal flora. British Journal of Nutrition 78, 313–324.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ellegård, L, Andersson, H & Bosaeus, I (1996) Inulin and oligofructose do not influence the absorption of cholesterol, and the excretion of cholesterol, Fe, Ca, Mg and bile acids but increase energy excretion in man. A blinded controlled cross-over study in ileostomy subjects. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition 51, 1–5.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Englyst, HN, Quigley, ME & Hudson, GJ (1994) Determination of dietary fibre as non-starch polysaccharides with gas–liquid chromatographic, high-performance liquid chromatographic or spectrophotometric measurement of constituent sugars. Analyst 119, 1497–1509.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Fiordaliso, M, Kok, N, Desager, J, Goethals, F, Deboyser, D, Roberfroid, M & Delzenne, N (1995) Dietary oligofructose lowers triglycerides, phospholipids and cholesterol in serum and very low density lipoproteins of rats. Lipids 30, 163–167.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Gallaher, DD, Stallings, WH, Blessing, LL, Busta, FF & Brady, LJ (1996) Probiotics, cecal microflora, and aberrant crypts in the rat colon 1–4. Journal of Nutrition 126, 1362–1371.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gibson, GR, Beatty, ER, Wang, X & Cummings, JH (1995) Selective stimulation of bifidobacteria in the human colon by oligofructose and inulin. Gastroenterology 108, 975–982.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Gibson, GR & Roberfroid, MB (1995) Dietary modulation of the human colonic microbiota - Introducing the concept of prebiotics. Journal of Nutrition 125, 1401–1412.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Gibson, GR & Wang, X (1994 a) Bifidogenic properties of different types of fructose-containing oligosaccharides. Food Microbiology 11, 491–498.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gibson, GR & Wang, X (1994 b) Enrichment of bifidobacteria from human gut contents by oligofructose using continuous culture. FEMS Microbiology Ecology 118, 121–128.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hata, Y, Hara, T, Oikawa, T, Yamamoto, M, Hirose, N, Nagashima, T, Torihama, N, Nakajima, K, Watanabe, A & Yamashita, M (1983) The effect of fructo-oligosaccharides (Neosugar®) on lipidemia. Geriatric Medicine 21, 156–167.Google Scholar
Hoebregs, H (1997) Fructans in foods and food products, ion-exchange chromatographic method: collaborative study. Journal of AOAC International 80, 1029–1037.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hopkins, MJ, Cummings, JH & Macfarlane, GT (1998) Inter-species differences in maximum specific growth rates and cell yields of bifidobacteria cultured on oligosaccharides and other simple carbohydrate sources. Journal of Applied Bacteriology 85, 381–386.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ito, M, Kimura, M, Deguchi, Y, Miyamori-Watabe, A, Yajima, T & Kan, T (1993) Effects of transgalactosylated disaccharides on the human intestinal microflora and their metabolism. Journal of Nutritional Science and Vitaminology 39, 279–288.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kaneko, T, Kohmoto, T, Kikuchi, H, Fukui, F, Shiota, M, Yatake, T, Takaku, H & Iino, H (1992) Digestibility of isomaltooligosaccharides by rats and effects on serum lipids. Nippon Nogei Kagaku Kaishi 66, 1211–1220.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kleessen, B, Sykura, B, Zunft, HJ & Blaut, M (1997) Effects of inulin and lactose on fecal microflora, microbial activity, and bowel habit in elderly constipated persons. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 65, 1397–1402.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Knudsen, KEB & Hessov, I (1995) Recovery of inulin from Jerusalem artichoke (Helianthus tuberosus L.) in the small intestine of man. British Journal of Nutrition 74, 101–113.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kok, N, Morgan, LM, Williams, CM, Roberfroid, MB, Thissen, J-P & Delzenne, NM (1998 a) Insulin, glucagon-like peptide 1, glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide and insulin-like growth factor I as putative mediators of the hypolipidemic effect of oligofructose in rats. Journal of Nutrition 128, 1099–1103.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kok, N, Roberfroid, M & Delzenne, N (1996 a) Dietary oligofructose modifies the impact of fructose on hepatic triacylglycerol metabolism. Metabolism 45, 1547–1550.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kok, N, Roberfroid, M, Robert, A & Delzenne, N (1996 b) Involvement of lipogenesis in the lower VLDL secretion induced by oligofructose in rats. British Journal of Nutrition 76, 881–890.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kok, NN, Taper, HS & Delzenne, NM (1998 b) Oligofructose modulates lipid metabolism alterations induced by a fat-rich diet in rats. Journal of Applied Toxicology 18, 47–53.3.0.CO;2-S>CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lemort, C & Roberfroid, M (1997) Effect of chicory fructooligosaccharides on Ca balance. NDO: Healthy Food for the Colon. Symposium LUW, 4–5 December 1997, p. 163. Wageningen: Wageningen University.Google Scholar
McBain, A & Macfarlane, G (1997) Investigations of bifidobacterial ecology and oligosaccharide metabolism in a three-stage compound continuous culture system. Scandinavian Journal of Gastroenterology 222, Suppl., 32–40.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Macfarlane, G, Macfarlane, S & Gibson, GR (1998) Validation of a three-stage compound continuous culture system for investigating the effect of retention time on the ecology and metabolism of bacteria in the human gut. Microbial Ecology 35, 180–187.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Menne, E & Guggenbuhl, N (1997) Prebiotic effect of the (fructosyl-1-fructose) Fm-type inulin hydrolysate in humans. NDO: Healthy Food for the Colon. Symposium LUW, 4–5 December 1997, p. 164. Wageningen: Wageningen University.Google Scholar
Mitsuoka, T, Hidaka, H & Eida, T (1987) Effect of fructo- oligosaccharides on intestinal microflora. Die Nahrung 31, 426–436.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ohta, A, Ohtsuki, M, Baba, S, Takizawa, T, Adachi, T & Kimura, S (1995) Effects of fructooligosaccharides on the absorption of iron, calcium, and magnesium in iron deficient anemic rats.. Journal of Nutritional Science and Vitaminology 41, 281–291.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ohta, A, Ohtsuki, M, Takizawa, T, Inaba, H, Adachi, T & Kimura, S (1994) Effects of fructo-oligosaccharides on the absorption of magnesium and calcium by cecectomised rats. International Journal of Vitaminology and Nutrition Research 64, 316–323.Google Scholar
Ohta, A, Osakabe, N, Yamada, K, Saito, Y & Hidaka, H (1993) Effects of fructooligosaccharides and other saccharides on calcium, magnesium, and phosphorus absorption in rats. Nippon Eiyo, Shokuryo Gakkaishi 46, 123–129.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pedersen, AA, Sandstrom, B & van Amelsvoort, JMM (1997) The effect of ingestion of inulin on blood lipids and gastrointestinal symptoms in healthy females. British Journal of Nutrition 78, 215–222.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Pierre, F, Perrin, P, Champ, M, Bornet, F, Meflah, K & Menanteau, J (1997) Short-chain fructo-oligosaccharides reduce the occurrence of colon tumors and develop gut-associated lymphoid tissue in min mice. Cancer Research 57, 225–228.Google ScholarPubMed
Quemener, B, Thibault, J & Coussement, P (1994) Determination of inulin and oligofructose in food products, and integration in the AOAC method for measurement of total dietary fibre. Food Science and Technology 27, 125–132.Google Scholar
Reddy, DS, Hamid, R & Rao, CV (1997) Effect of dietary oligofructose and inulin on colonic preneoplastic aberrant crypt foci inhibition. Carcinogenesis 18, 1371–1374.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Roberfroid, M, Gibson, GR & Delzenne, N (1993) Biochemistry of oligofructose, a non-digestible fructooligosaccharide: an approach to estimate its caloric value. Nutrition Reviews 51, 137–146.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Roberfroid, MB, Van Loo, J & Gibson, GR (1998) The bifidogenic nature of chicory inulin and its hydrolysis products. Journal of Nutrition 128, 11–19.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Rowland, IR, Rumney, CJ, Coutts, JT & Lievense, L (1998) Effect of Bifidobacterium longum and inulin on gut bacterial metabolism and carcinogen induced aberrant crypt foci in rats. Carcinogenesis 2, 281–285.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Scholz-Ahrens, K, Van Loo, J & Schrezenmeir, J (1998) Oligofructose stimuliert die Femurmineralisation in Abhängigkeit von der Calciumzufuhr bei der ovariektomisierten Ratte (The increase in bone mineralization in the ovariectomized rat by oligofructose also depends on Ca supplementation). Zeitschrift für Ernährungswissenschaft 37, 123–124.Google Scholar
Taper, H, Delzenne, N & Roberfroid, MB (1997) Growth inhibition of transplantable mouse tumors by non digestible carbohydrates. International Journal of Cancer 71, 1109–1112.3.0.CO;2-5>CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Taper, HS, Lemort, C & Roberfroid, MB (1998) Inhibitory effect of dietary inulin and oligofructose on the growth of transplantable mouse tumor. Anticancer Research (In the Press).Google Scholar
van den Heuvel, EGH, Muys, Th, van Dokkum, W & Schaafsma, G (1999) Oligofructose stimulates calcium absorption in adolescents. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition (In the Press).CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
van den Heuvel, E, Schaafsma, G, Muys, T & van Dokkum, W (1998) Non-digestible oligosaccharides do not interfere with calcium and non-heme iron absorption in young healthy men. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 67, 445–452.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
van Dokkum, W, van den Heuvel, EGHM, Havenaar, R, Srikumar, TS, van Aken, P & Wezendonk, B (1995) The effect of non digestible oligosaccharides (NDO) on human physiology. Report TNO. Zeist: TNO.Google Scholar
Van Loo, J, Coussement, P, De Leenheer, L, Hoebregs, H & Smits, G (1995) On the presence of inulin and oligofructose as natural ingredients in the Western diet. Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition 35, 525–552.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
van Vliet, T (1997) A double blind placebo controlled, parallel trial on the effect of oligofructose intake on serum lipids in male volunteers Report TNO V 97.874. Zeist: TNO.Google Scholar
Wada, K (1990) In vitro fermentability of oligofructose and inulin by some species of human intestinal flora. Report prepared for ORAFTI, Tienen, Belgium, available on request from J Van Loo.Google Scholar
Wang, X & Gibson, GR (1993) Effects of the in vitro fermentation of oligofructose and inulin by bacteria growing in the human large intestine. Journal of Applied Bacteriology 75, 373–380.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Williams, CM (1998) Effects of inulin on blood lipids in humans. Journal of Nutrition (In the Press).Google Scholar
Yamashita, K, Kawai, K & Itakura, M (1984) Effects of fructo-oligosaccharides on blood glucose and serum lipids in diabetic subjects. Nutrition Research 4, 961–966.CrossRefGoogle Scholar