Oligosaccharide

Raffinose and stachyose are both examples of functional oligosaccharides. Oligosaccharide is a trisaccharide formed from the combination of three monomers: galactose, glucose, and fructose. Storage oligosaccharides are general in plants. Fructooligosaccharides (also called oligofructose) are short chains of fructose residues found in many plants, especially in the blue Agave plant, Jerusalem artichoke, and yacón. Commercially, they are used as sweeteners and food additives.

While fructooligosaccharides derived from plants, galactooligosaccharides, and human milk oligosaccharides derived from dairy. Galacto-oligosaccharides are oligosaccharides made up of a short chain of galactose molecules. Human milk oligosaccharides occur in breast milk and mainly composed of 2′-fucosyllactose. Fructooligosaccharides, galacto-oligosaccharides, and human milk oligosaccharides are examples of dietary oligosaccharides. They are integrated into the human diet for their prebiotic effect.

Oligosaccharides are very complicated carbohydrates of the non-a-glucan type which, because of the configuration of their osidic bonds, resist hydrolysis by salivary and intestinal digestive enzymes. In the colon, they are fermented by anaerobic bacteria. Among the non-digestible oligosaccharides, the chicory fructooligosaccharides occupy a key position and, in most European countries, they are recognized as natural food ingredients.

Functional oligosaccharides help promote the growth of healthy gut microflora. From there, bacteria that feed on fermentable carbohydrates produce many beneficial substances, including short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) and certain B vitamins.