Robinson Randall C
Department of Food Science and Technology, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, United States.
Front Nutr. 2019 Apr 24;6:50. doi: 10.3389/fnut.2019.00050. eCollection 2019.
Among the many bioactive components in human milk, the free oligosaccharides (OS) have been intensely studied in recent decades due to their unique ability to selectively modulate the infant gut microbiota, in addition to providing numerous other health benefits. In light of the demonstrated value of these compounds, recent studies have set out to characterize the structures and properties of the similar and more widely-available OS in the dairy industry. This mini review gives a brief overview of the common analytical techniques used to characterize bovine milk OS and highlights several recent, key studies that have identified valuable physiological and metabolic effects of these molecules . Although traditionally considered indigestible by human enzymes, evidence now suggests that milk OS are partially absorbed in the intestines and likely contribute to the development of molecular structures in the brain. Furthermore, aside from their prebiotic effects, these compounds show promise as therapeutics that could alleviate numerous metabolic abnormalities, including undernutrition, obesity, and excessive intestinal permeability. The need for novel treatments to address these and related health issues is motivating the development of scalable techniques to produce large quantities of milk OS for use as food ingredients. The safety and tolerability of high dosages of bovine milk OS have been demonstrated in two independent human studies, which potentially opens the door for further research aiming to utilize these molecules to alleviate common metabolic health issues.
在人乳的众多生物活性成分中，游离寡糖（OS）近几十年来受到了深入研究，因为它们除了具有众多其他健康益处外，还具有独特的选择性调节婴儿肠道微生物群的能力。鉴于这些化合物已被证实的价值，最近的研究开始对乳制品行业中类似且更易获得的寡糖的结构和特性进行表征。这篇综述简要概述了用于表征牛乳寡糖的常见分析技术，并重点介绍了最近几项关键研究，这些研究确定了这些分子的重要生理和代谢作用。尽管传统上认为牛乳寡糖不能被人体酶消化，但现在有证据表明，它们在肠道中会被部分吸收，并可能有助于大脑分子结构的发育。此外，除了其益生元作用外，这些化合物还有望成为治疗药物，可缓解多种代谢异常，包括营养不良、肥胖和肠道通透性过高。针对这些及相关健康问题开发新疗法的需求，正推动着可扩展技术的发展，以生产大量牛乳寡糖用作食品成分。两项独立的人体研究已证明高剂量牛乳寡糖的安全性和耐受性，这可能为进一步利用这些分子缓解常见代谢健康问题的研究打开大门。
