CEB-Centre of Biological Engineering, Universidade do Minho, Campus de Gualtar, Braga, Portugal.
CEB-Centre of Biological Engineering, Universidade do Minho, Campus de Gualtar, Braga, Portugal.
Adv Food Nutr Res. 2021;95:41-95. doi: 10.1016/bs.afnr.2020.08.001. Epub 2020 Oct 14.
Consumers are conscientiously changing their eating preferences toward healthier options, such as functional foods enriched with pre- and probiotics. Prebiotics are attractive bioactive compounds with multidimensional beneficial action on both human and animal health, namely on the gastrointestinal tract, cardiometabolism, bones or mental health. Conventionally, prebiotics are non-digestible carbohydrates which generally present favorable organoleptic properties, temperature and acidic stability, and are considered interesting food ingredients. However, according to the current definition of prebiotics, application categories other than food are accepted, as well as non-carbohydrate substrates and bioactivity at extra-intestinal sites. Regulatory issues are considered a major concern for prebiotics since a clear understanding and application of these compounds among the consumers, regulators, scientists, suppliers or manufacturers, health-care providers and standards or recommendation-setting organizations are of utmost importance. Prebiotics can be divided in several categories according to their development and regulatory status. Inulin, galactooligosaccharides, fructooligosaccharides and lactulose are generally classified as well established prebiotics. Xylooligosaccharides, isomaltooligosaccharides, chitooligosaccharides and lactosucrose are classified as "emerging" prebiotics, while raffinose, neoagaro-oligosaccharides and epilactose are "under development." Other substances, such as human milk oligosaccharides, polyphenols, polyunsaturated fatty acids, proteins, protein hydrolysates and peptides are considered "new candidates." This chapter will encompass actual information about the non-established prebiotics, mainly their physicochemical properties, market, legislation, biological activity and possible applications. Generally, there is a lack of clear demonstrations about the effective health benefits associated with all the non-established prebiotics. Overcoming this limitation will undoubtedly increase the demand for these compounds and their market size will follow the consumer's trend.
消费者正在自觉地改变他们的饮食偏好，选择更健康的选择，例如富含预生物和益生菌的功能性食品。益生元是具有多维有益作用的有吸引力的生物活性化合物，对人类和动物的健康都有影响，特别是在胃肠道、心脏代谢、骨骼或心理健康方面。传统上，益生元是非可消化的碳水化合物，通常具有良好的感官特性、温度和酸性稳定性，被认为是有趣的食品成分。然而，根据目前对益生元的定义，除了食品之外，还接受其他应用类别，包括非碳水化合物基质和肠道外部位的生物活性。监管问题被认为是益生元的一个主要关注点，因为消费者、监管机构、科学家、供应商或制造商、医疗保健提供者以及标准或建议制定组织对这些化合物的清晰理解和应用至关重要。根据其发展和监管状况，益生元可以分为几类。菊粉、半乳糖寡糖、果寡糖和乳果糖通常被归类为成熟的益生元。低聚木糖、异麦芽寡糖、壳寡糖和乳蔗糖被归类为“新兴”益生元，而棉子糖、新琼寡糖和乳酮糖则被归类为“正在开发”的益生元。其他物质，如人乳寡糖、多酚、多不饱和脂肪酸、蛋白质、蛋白质水解物和肽，则被认为是“新候选物”。本章将涵盖非已建立的益生元的实际信息，主要是它们的物理化学性质、市场、法规、生物活性和可能的应用。一般来说，缺乏与所有非已建立的益生元相关的有效健康益处的明确证据。克服这一局限性无疑将增加对这些化合物的需求，其市场规模将跟随消费者的趋势。
