Kinetic analyses of bacterial growth, carbohydrate consumption, and metabolite production of five butyrate-producing clostridial cluster XIVa colon bacteria grown on acetate plus fructose, oligofructose, inulin, or lactate were performed. A gas chromatography method was set up to assess H2 and CO2 production online and to ensure complete coverage of all metabolites produced. Method accuracy was...

Reactive oxygen species (ROS) production is one of the main mechanisms used to kill microbes during innate immune response. D-lactic acid, which is augmented during acute ruminal acidosis, reduces platelet activating factor (PAF)-induced ROS production and L-selectin shedding in bovine neutrophils in vitro. This study was conducted to investigate whether acute ruminal acidosis induced by acute ...

A food (ingredient) is regarded as functional if it is satisfactorily demonstrated to affect beneficially 1 or more target functions in the body beyond adequate nutritional effects. The term inulin-type fructans covers all beta(2<--1) linear fructans including native inulin (DP 2-60, DP(av) = 12), oligofructose (DP 2-8, DP(av) = 4), and inulin HP (DP 10-60, DP(av) = 25) as well as Synergy 1, a ...

Inulin is a natural food component found in many plants that are part of the human diet (e.g., leeks, onions, wheat, garlic, chicory and artichokes). It is added to many foods and is used to increase dietary fibre, replace fats or carbohydrates, and as a prebiotic (a stimulant of beneficial bacteria in the colon). Oligofructose, which is also present in these foods, produces similar effects and...

Numerous investigations performed in animal models in the past 10 years have shown repeatedly that non-digestible oligosaccharides (NDO), such as inulin, oligofructose or transgalacto-oligosaccharides (TOS), stimulate mineral absorption, mainly calcium and magnesium. Long-term beneficial effects on bone health have been indicated by accumulation of bone mineral content in growing rats or preven...

Lameness is one of the most painful conditions that affects dairy cattle. This study was conducted to evaluate clinical signs and plasma concentration of several pain and stress biomarkers after oligofructose-induced lameness in dairy heifers. Lameness was induced using an oligofructose overload model in 12 non-pregnant heifers. Clinical parameters and blood samples were obtained at 48 and 24 h...

Agavins consumption has led to accelerated body weight loss in mice. We investigated the changes on cecal microbiota and short-chain fatty acids (SCFA) associated with body weight loss in overweight mice. Firstly, mice were fed with standard (ST5) or high-fat (HF5) diet for five weeks. Secondly, overweight mice were shifted to standard diet alone (HF-ST10) or supplemented with agavins (HF-ST + ...

Studies in rodents show that inulin and oligofructose can reduce the plasma levels of cholesterol and triacylglycerols (TG). In addition, they can oppose TG accumulation in liver and have favourable effects on hepatic steatosis. The hypotriglyceridaemic effect is due to a reduction in hepatic re-esterification of fatty acids, but mainly in the expression and activity of liver lipogenesis, resul...

SCOPE Diet-induced obesity is associated with changes in the gut microbiota and low-grade inflammation. Oligofructose was reported to ameliorate high fat diet-induced metabolic disorders in mice by restoring the number of intestinal bifidobacteria. However, this has not been experimentally demonstrated. METHODS AND RESULTS We fed conventional mice, germfree mice, mice associated with a simpli...