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Galacto-Oligosaccharide Prebiotics

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Prebiotics and Probiotics Science and Technology

Abstract

The wide recognition of bifidobacteria as health promoting bacteria (Boesten and de Vos, 2008) has attracted a lot of interest in identifying substances that can selectively promote their growth. Many studies using conventional culture and molecular techniques for bacterial identification have shown that breast-fed infants are characterized by an intestinal microbiota that is dominated by bifidobacteria (Benno et al., 1984), which is different from that of infants fed on cow’s milk in that their microbiotas are characterized by lower counts of bifidobacteria, with greater numbers of more potentially harmful organisms such as clostridia and enterococci (Lunderquist et al., 1985). As a result of this difference in the microbiota composition, higher levels of ammonia, amines and phenols and other potentially harmful substances have also been found in infants fed cow’s milk products (Lunderquist et al., 1985).

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Abbreviations

AD :

atopic dermatitis

CSTR :

continuous stirred-tank reactor

DP :

degree of polymerization

EPEC :

enteropathogenic Escherichia coli

FOS :

fructooligosaccharides

GALT :

gut associated lymphoid tissue

GOS :

galacto-oligosaccharides

NF κB :

nuclear factor κB

NK cell :

natural killer cells

SCFA :

short chain fatty acids

TLR :

toll like receptors

TNF-α :

tumor necrosis factor α

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Clasado Ltd, Wolverton Mill, Milton Keynes, UK

    George Tzortzis

  2. Department of Food Biosciences, The University of Reading, Reading, UK

    Jelena Vulevic

Authors
  1. George Tzortzis
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  2. Jelena Vulevic
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Food Biosciences, University of Reading Whiteknights, Reading, UK

    Dimitris Charalampopoulos  & Robert A. Rastall  & 

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Tzortzis, G., Vulevic, J. (2009). Galacto-Oligosaccharide Prebiotics. In: Charalampopoulos, D., Rastall, R.A. (eds) Prebiotics and Probiotics Science and Technology. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-79058-9_7

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