Xylooligosaccharide Explained

Xylooligosaccharides (XOS) are polymers of the sugar xylose.^[1] They are produced from the xylan fraction in plant fiber. Their C5 (where C is a quantity of carbon atoms in each monomer) structure is fundamentally different from other prebiotics, which are based upon C6 sugars. Xylooligosaccharides have been commercially available since the 1980s, originally produced by Suntory in Japan. They have more recently become more widely available commercially, as technologies have advanced and production costs have fallen. Some enzymes from yeast can exclusively convert xylan into only xylooligosaccharides-DP-3 to 7.^[2]

Xylooligosaccharides act as a prebiotic,^{[3] [4]} selectively feeding beneficial bacteria such as bifidobacteria and lactobacilli within the digestive tract. A large number of clinical trials have been conducted with XOS, demonstrating a variety of health benefits, including improvements in blood sugars and lipids, digestive health benefits, laxation, and beneficial changes to immune markers.^[5] These health benefits have typically been observed at 1–4 g/d, a lower dose than required for prebiotics such as fructooligosaccharides and inulin.

See also

• (FOS)
• (GOS)
• (IMO)

References

• Chung . Y-C . Hsu . C-K . Ko . C-Y . Chan . Y-C . 2007 . Dietary intake of xylooligosaccharides improves the intestinal microbiota, fecal moisture, and pH value in the elderly . Nutr Res . 27 . 12. 756–61 . 10.1016/j.nutres.2007.09.014 .
• Childs . CE . Roytio . H . Alhoniemi . E . Fekete . AA . Forssten . SD . Hudjec . N . etal . 2014 . "Xylo-oligosaccharides alone or in synbiotic combination with Bifidobacterium animalis subsp. lactis induce bifidogenesis and modulate markers of immune function in healthy adults " a double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomised, factorial cross-over study . Br J Nutr . 111 . 11. 1945–56 . 10.1017/S0007114513004261 . 24661576 . 28575826 . free .
• Cloetens . L . Broekaert . WF . Delaedt . Y . Ollevier . F . Courtin . CM . Delcour . JA . etal . 2010 . "Tolerance of arabinoxylan-oligosaccharides and their prebiotic activity in healthy subjects " a randomised, placebo-controlled cross-over study . Br J Nutr . 103 . 5. 703–13 . 10.1017/S0007114509992248 . 20003568 . free .
• Finegold . SM . Li . Z . Summanen . PH . Downes . J . Thames . G . Corbett . K . etal . 2014 . Xylooligosaccharide increases bifidobacteria but not lactobacilli in human gut microbiota . Food Funct . 5 . 3. 436–45 . 10.1039/c3fo60348b . 24513849 . free .
• Francois . IEJA . Lescroart . O . Veraverbeke . WS . Marzorati . M . Possemiers . S . Evenepoel . P . etal . 2012 . "Effects of a wheat bran extract containing arabinoxylan oligosaccharides on gastrointestinal health parameters in healthy adult human volunteers " a double-blind, randomised, placebo-controlled, cross-over trial . Br J Nutr . 108 . 12. 2229–42 . 10.1017/S0007114512000372 . 22370444 . 10359052 . free . 1854/LU-3140491 . free .
• Iino . T . Nishijima . Y . Sawada . S . Sasaki . H . Harada . H . Suwa . Y . etal . 1997 . Improvement of Constipation by a Small Amount of Xylooligosaccharides Ingestion in Adult Women . J Japanese Assoc Diet Fiber Res . 1 . 19–24 . 10.11217/jjdf1997.1.19 .
• Kajihara . M . Kato . S . Konishi . M . Yamagishi . Y . Horie . Y . Ishii . H . 2000 . Xylooligosaccharide decreases blood ammonia levels in patients with liver cirrhosis . Am J Gastroenterol . 95 . 9 . 2514 . 10.1111/j.1572-0241.2000.02712.x . 33589050 . free .
• Lecerf . J-M . Depeint . F . Clerc . E . Dugenet . Y . Niamba . CN . Rhazi . L . etal . 2012 . Xylo-oligosaccharide (XOS) in combination with inulin modulates both the intestinal environment and immune status in healthy subjects, while XOS alone only shows prebiotic properties . Br J Nutr . 108 . 10. 1847–58 . 10.1017/S0007114511007252 . 22264499 . free .
• Lin . S-H . Chou . L-M . Chien . Y-W . Chang . J-S . Lin . C-I . 2016 . Prebiotic Effects of Xylooligosaccharides on the Improvement of Microbiota Balance in Human Subjects . Gastroenterol Res Pract . 6 . 1–6 . 10.1155/2016/5789232 . 27651791 . 5019895 . free .
• Maki . KC . Gibson . GR . Dickmann . RS . Kendall . CWC . Chen . C-YO . Costabile . A . etal . 2012 . Digestive and physiologic effects of a wheat bran extract, arabino-xylan-oligosaccharide, in breakfast cereal . Nutrition . 28 . 11–12. 1115–21 . 10.1016/j.nut.2012.02.010 . 22771050 .
• Na . MH . Kim . WK . 2007 . Effects of xylooligosaccharide intake on fecal Bifidobacteria, lactic acid and lipid metabolism in Korean young women . Kor J Nutr . 40 . 154–61 . 10.1097/01.NPT.0000288316.43613.63 . free .
• Sheu . WH-H . Lee . I-T . Chen . W . Chan . Y-C . 2008 . Effects of xylooligosaccharides in type 2 diabetes mellitus . J Nutr Sci Vitaminol (Tokyo) . 54 . 5. 396–401 . 10.3177/jnsv.54.396 . 19001772 . free .
• Tateyama . I . Hashii . K . Johno . I . Iino . T . Hirai . K . Suwa . Y . etal . 2005 . Effect of xylooligosaccharide intake on severe constipation in pregnant women . J Nutr Sci Vitaminol (Tokyo) . 51 . 6. 445–8 . 10.3177/jnsv.51.445 . 16521705 . 45484490 . free .
• Yang . J . Summanen . PH . Henning . SM . Hsu . M . Lam . H . Huang . J . etal . 2015 . "Xylooligosaccharide supplementation alters gut bacteria in both healthy and prediabetic adults " a pilot study . Front Physiol . 6. 216. 10.3389/fphys.2015.00216 . 26300782 . 4528259 . free .

Notes and References

1. 10.1016/S0924-2244(01)00031-0. Xylooligosaccharides: Manufacture and applications. Trends in Food Science & Technology. 11. 11. 387. 2000. Vázquez. M. J.. Alonso. J. L.. Domínguez. H.. Parajó. J. C..
2. Adsul . Mukund . Biochemical characterization of two xylanases from yeast Pseudozyma hubeiensis producing only xylooligosaccharides . Bioresource Technology . 10.1016/j.biortech.2009.07.064 . 19692229 . 100 . 2009 . 24 . 6488–95.
3. 10.1021/acs.jafc.6b05183. Utility of Thermostable Xylanases of Mycothermus thermophilus in Generating Prebiotic Xylooligosaccharides. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry. 65. 6. 1139–1145. 2017. Ma. Rui. 28067041. etal.
4. Structural Considerations on the Use of Endo-Xylanases for the Production of prebiotic Xylooligosaccharides from Biomass. Current Protein & Peptide Science. 2017. 1875-5550. 27670134. 48–67. 18. 999. J. A.. Linares-Pastén. A.. Aronsson. E.. Nordberg Karlsson. 10.2174/1389203717666160923155209. 5738707.
5. Web site: nutraingredients-usa.com . Research shows XOS is preferred prebiotic due to small dosage requirement; ideal for functional food and beverage applications . 2022-07-06 . nutraingredients-usa.com . en-GB.