Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-t7fkt Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-26T02:22:32.180Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Fermentation and bulking capacity of indigestible carbohydrates: the case of inulin and oligofructose

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 March 2007

M. Nyman
M. Nyman*
Affiliation:
Applied Nutrition and Food Chemistry, Center for Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, PO Box 124, Lund University, SE-22100- Lund, Sweden
*
*Corresponding author: Dr M. Nyman, fax +46 46 222 45 32, email [email protected]
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.

The bulking index (i.e. the increase in faecal fresh weight in gram per gram indigestible carbohydrate ingested) with oligofructose and inulin is similar to that produced with other easily fermented fibres such as pectins and gums. Most studies in man have been performed at a level of 15 g/d and more investigations on lower intakes are needed to appoint the least intake for an effect. Concerning short-chain fatty acids (SCFA) most studies have been using oligofructose and points at an increased butyric acid formation in the caecum of rats. In one study on rats with inulin high caecal proportions of propionic acid were obtained. As inulin has a higher molecular weight than oligofructose it might be speculated if this could be a reason to the different SCFA-profile formed. No effects on faecal concentrations of SCFA in humans have been revealed with inulin and oligofructose, which neither is expected as most of the SCFA formed during the fermentation already has been absorbed or utilized by the colonic mucosa.

Keywords

Bulking indexSCFAInulinOligofructose
Type
Research Article
Information
British Journal of Nutrition , Volume 87 , Issue S2 , May 2002 , pp. S163 - S168
Copyright
Copyright © The Nutrition Society 2002

References

Alles, MS, Hautvast, JGA, Nagengast, FM, Hartemink, R, van Laere, KMJ & Jansen, JBMJ (1996) Fate of fructo-oligosaccharides in the human intestine. British Journal of Nutrition 76, 211–221.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Alles, MS, Katan, MB, Salemans, JMJI, van Laere, KMJ, Gerichhausen, MJW, Rozendaal, MJ & Nagengast, FM (1997) Bacterial fermentation of fructooligosaccharides and resistant starch in patients with an ileal pouch anal anastomosis. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 66, 1286–1292.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Armstrong, EF, Eastwood, MA & Brydon, WG (1993) The influence of wheat bran and pectin on the distribution of water in rat cecal contents and feces. British Journal of Nutrition 69, 913–920.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bauer, HG, Asp, NG, Dahlqvist, A, Fredlund, PE, Nyman, M & Öste, R (1981) Effect of two kinds of pectin and guar gum on 1,2-dimethylhydrazine initiation of colon tumors and on fecal β-glucuronidase activity in the rat. Cancer Research 41, 2518–2523.Google ScholarPubMed
Berggren, AM, Björck, IME, Nyman, EMGL & Eggum, BO (1993) Short-chain fatty acid content and pH in caecum of rats given various sources of carbohydrates. Journal of the Science and Food Agriculture 63, 397–406.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brighenti, F, Casiraghi, MC, Canzi, E & Ferrari, A (1999) Effect of consumption of a ready-to-eat breakfast cereal containing inulin on the intestinal milieu and blood lipids in healthy male volunteers. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition 53, 726–733.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Campbell, JM, Fahey, GC & 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
Castiglia-Delavaud, C, Verdier, E, Besle, JM, Vernet, J, Boirie, Y, Beaufrere, B, De Baynast, R & Vermorel, M (1998) Net energy value of non-starch polysaccharide isolates (sugarbeet fibre and commercial inulin) and their impact on nutrient digestive utilization in healthy human subjects. British Journal of Nutrition 80, 343–352.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Clausen, MR, Jørgensen, J & Mortensen, PB (1998) Comparison of diarrhea induced by ingestion of fructooligosaccharides Idolax and disaccharide lactulose – role of osmolarity versus fermentation of malabsorbed carbohydrate. Digestive Diseases and Sciences 43, 2696–2707.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Cummings, JH (1984) Constipation, dietary fibre and the control of large bowel function. Postgraduate Medical Journal 60, 811–819.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Cummings, JH, Bingham, SA, Heaton, KW & Eastwood, MA (1992) Fecal weight, colon cancer risk, and dietary-intake of nonstarch polysaccharides (dietary fiber). Gastroenterology 103, 1783–1789.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Englyst, HN, Hay, S & Macfarlane, GT (1987) Polysaccharide breakdown by mixed populations of human faecal bacteria. FEMS Microbial Ecolology 95, 163–171.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Den Hond, E, Geypens, B & Ghoos, Y (2000) Effect of high performance chicory inulin on constipation. Nutrition Research 20, 731–736.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ferguson, MJ & Jones, GP (2000) Production of short-chain fatty acids following in vitro fermentation of saccharides, saccharide esters, fructo-oligosaccharides, starches, modified starches and non-starch polysaccharides. Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture 80, 166–170.3.0.CO;2-K>CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gamet, L, Daviaud, D, Denis-Pouxviel, C, Remesy, C & Murat, JC (1992) Effects of short-chain fatty acids on growth and differentiation of the human colon-cancer cell-line HT29. International Journal of Cancer 52, 286–289.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
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
Hansen, L, Bach Knudsen, K & Eggum, BO (1992) Gastrointestinal implications in the rat of wheat bran, oat bran and pea fibre. British Journal of Nutrition 68, 451–462.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kleessen, B, Sykura, B, Zunft, H-J & Blaut, M (1997) Effects of inulin and lactose on fecal microflora, microbial activity, and bowel habit in eldery constipated persons. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 65, 1397–1402.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kruse, HP, Kleessen, B & Blaut, M (1999) Effects of inulin on faecal bifidobacteria in human subjects. British Journal of Nutrition 82, 375–382.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Levrat, MA, Rémésy, C & Demigné, C (1991) High propionic-acid fermentations and mineral accumulation in the cecum of rats adapted to different levels of inulin. Journal of Nutrition 121, 1730–1737.Google ScholarPubMed
Luo, J, Rizkalla, W, Alamowitch, C, Boussairi, A, Blayo, A, Barry, JL, Laffitte, A, Guyon, F, Bornet, FRJ & Slama, G (1996) Chronic consumption of short-chain fructooligosaccharides by healthy subjects decreased basal hepatic glucose production but had no effect on insulin-stimulated glucose metabolism. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 63, 939–945.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lupton, JR (1995) Short-chain fatty acids and colon tumorigenesis: animal models. In Physiological and Clinical Aspects of Short-Chain Fatty Acids, pp. 307–318 [Cummings, JH, Rombeau, JL and Sakata, T, editors]. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Macfarlane, GT & Cummings, JH (1991) The colonic flora, fermentation, and large bowel digestive function. In The Large Intestine – Physiology, Pathophysiology and Disease, pp. 51–92 [Phillips, SF, Pemberton, JH and Shorter, RG, editors]. New York: Raven Press.Google Scholar
Menne, E, Guggenbuhl, N & Roberfroid, M (2000) Fn-type chicory inulin hydrolysate has a prebiotic effect in humans. Journal of Nutrition 130, 1197–1199.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nyman, M (1985) Fermentation of dietary fibre in the intestinal tract. PhD thesis, Lund University, Lund.Google Scholar
Nyman, M & Asp, NG (1982) Fermentation of dietary fibre in the intestinal tract. British Journal of Nutrition 47, 357–366.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Nyman, M & Asp, NG (1985) Bulk laxatives: Their dietary fibre composition, degradation, and faecal bulking capacity in the rat. Scandinavian Journal of Gastroenterology 20, 887–895.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Nyman, M, Asp, NG, Cummings, JH & Wiggins, H (1986) Fermentation of dietary fibre in the intestinal tract – comparison between man and rat. British Journal of Nutrition 55, 487–496.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Poulsen, M & Mølck, AM (2002) Different effects of short-and long-chained fructans on large intestinal physiology and carcinogen-induced aberrant crypt foci in rats. Nutrition and Cancer (in press).CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Roberfroid, M, Gibson, GR & Delzenne, N (1993) The biochemistry of oligofructose, a nondigestible fiber – an approach to calculate its caloric value. Nutrition Reviews 51, 137–146.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Roland, N, Nugon-Baudon, L, Andrieux, C & Szylit, O (1995) Comparative study of the fermentative characteristics of inulin and different types of fibre in rats inoculated with a human whole faecal flora. British Journal of Nutrition 74, 239–249.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Scheppach, W, Sommer, H, Kirchner, T, Paganelli, GM, Bartram, P, Christl, S, Richter, F, Dusel, G & Kasper, H (1992) Effect of butyrate enemas on the colonic mucosa in ulcerative colitis. Gastroenetrology 103, 51–56.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Schultz, AG, Van Amelsvoort, JM & Beynen, AC (1993) Dietary native resistant starch but not retrograded resistant starch raises magnesium and calcium absorption in rats. Journal of Nutrition 123, 1724–1731.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Spiller, GA (1993) Handbook of Dietary Fiber in Human Nutrition. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press Inc.Google Scholar
Spiller, GA, Story, JA, Wong, LG, Nunes, JD, Alton, M, Petro, MS, Furumoto, EJ, Whittam, JH & Scala, J (1986) Effect of increasing levels of hard wheat fiber on fecal weight, minerals and steroids and gastrointestinal transit time in healthy young women. Journal of Nutrition 116, 778–785.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Svanberg, SJM, Gustafsson, KBH, Suortti, T & Nyman, EMGL (1995) Molecular weight distribution, measured by HPSEC, and viscosity of water-soluble dietary fiber in carrots following different types of processing. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry 43, 2692–2697.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tominaga, S, Hirayama, M, Adachi, T, Tokunaga, T & Iino, H (1999) Effects of ingested fructooligosaccharides on stool frequency in healthy female volunteers: a placebo-controlled study. Bioscience Microflora 18, 49–53.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Van Dokkum, W, Wezendonk, B, Srikumar, TS & van den Heuvel, EG (1999) Effect of nondigestible oligosaccharides on large-bowel functions, blood lipid concentrations and glucose absorption in young healthy male subjects. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition 53, 1–7.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Wolever, TM, Spadafora, P & Eshuis, H (1991) Interaction between colonic acetate and propionate in humans. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 53, 681–687.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed