Can Pregnant Women Consume Galacto-Oligosaccharide?

Galacto-oligosaccharide, referred to as GOS. It is a prebiotic that cannot be directly digested and absorbed by the human body, but is fermented and utilized by intestinal microorganisms to produce a series of health effects, such as improving constipation, regulating intestinal flora, enhancing immunity, and promoting mineral absorption. The health effects of GOS as a prebiotic are constantly being researched and explored, and its application as a nutritional fortifier and food ingredient in the food industry is very popular.

Short-chain galactooligosaccharides (SC-GOS) are effective proliferation factors for Bifidobacteria. Bifidobacterium is an extremely important microorganism for the human intestine. It can not only promote the growth and development of the body, inhibit tumors and aging, but also regulate intestinal dynamic balance, promote the integrity of the intestinal barrier, reduce colitis symptoms, and enhance body immunity.

GOS regulates intestinal bacteria and can be used as a dietary supplement during pregnancy

During pregnancy, disruption of the intestinal microbiota and abnormal glucose metabolism may lead to complications such as gestational diabetes. The trial recruited 52 pregnant women and randomly assigned them to receive a GOS intervention or a placebo containing fructooligosaccharides. 16S rRNA sequencing technology was used to detect the composition, diversity and differences of intestinal microbiota, and analyze lipid metabolism, glucose metabolism and inflammatory factors during pregnancy. It was found that GOS is safe for pregnant women to ingest. Compared with placebo fructo-oligosaccharide, GOS has no significant difference in improving glucose and lipid metabolism, but it does have advantages in regulating intestinal flora. Therefore, GOS can be considered as a dietary supplement for pregnant women during pregnancy.

GOS helps infants and young children absorb iron

Iron deficiency anemia is very common among infants in poor areas. Although there are many iron-fortified foods or supplements on the market, the absorption rate of iron in infants is generally very low. Most iron fortifiers are not absorbed and are instead absorbed into the colon. Some pathogens use them to grow and produce toxins. An effective strategy to reduce the adverse effects of iron on the gut is to use the lowest possible but effective dose of iron and to provide prebiotics at the same time. To test whether infant intake of GOS or HMOs enhances iron absorption from iron-fortified polenta and whether maternal HMO classification modulates these effects, a randomized, prospective crossover study of breastfed infants was conducted. A single ingestion of a low dose (3.0 g) of GOS increased iron absorption in infants, and this effect was independent of maternal HMO classification. Based on the conclusions in this study, 5.0 mg of iron (as FeFum) taken with GOS will provide sufficient absorbable iron to meet the daily iron requirement of 0.69 mg in infants aged 6 to 12 months.

GOS replaces sugar in gummy products and extends shelf life

In recent years, GOS has appeared in various foods and beverages as a sugar substitute and intestinal nutritional fortification. The research on using GOS to replace sugar in soft candies is a pioneering work. The purpose of this study was to use GOS to create healthy gummies with prebiotic properties. The sugar in regular gummies was replaced with different amounts of galactooligosaccharides (60%, 80% and 100%) and sensory tests (color, moisture, pH and texture) were performed. It was found that when the GOS content exceeded 60%, taste, texture, overall acceptability and total score all decreased. In order to make the 100% substituted GOS gummy more acceptable to the subjects, different amounts of sucralose (5g, 5.5g, 6g) were added during preparation, and sensory testing was conducted by an expert group. The results showed that the gummies with different sucralose contents were acceptable to the panelists. After six months, the texture of the gummies improved significantly (p<0.05), with a slight decrease in color and taste. The researchers concluded that sugar could be replaced with 100% GOS to meet the growing demand for healthy confectionery without changing sensory qualities and extending shelf life.