Fructooligosaccharides by Ray Sahelian, M.D. Fructooligosaccharide supplement health benefit

Fructooligosaccharide (FOS) is an oligosaccharide used as an artificial or alternative sweetener. Fructooligosaccharides became popular in the 1980s in response to consumer demand for healthier and calorie-reduced foods. The term oligosaccharide refers to a short chain of sugar molecules (in the case of FOS, fructose molecules). Oligo means few, and saccharide means sugar.

Vegetables that have fructooligosaccharides
Yacon roots are a rich source of fructooligosaccharides (FOS) and have a long use tradition as food in the Andean region.

Fructooligosaccharide supplement helps colonic bacteria
Four-week short chain fructo-oligosaccharides ingestion leads to increasing fecal bifidobacteria and cholesterol excretion in healthy elderly volunteers.
Nutr J. 2007 Dec. Bouhnik Y, Achour L, Paineau D, Riottot M, Attar A, Bornet F. Pôle des Maladies de l'Appareil Digestif (PMAD), Service de Gastroentérologie et d'Assistance Nutritive, Hôpital Beaujon, 100 bd du Général Leclerc, 92110 Clichy Cedex, France.
Short-chain fructo-oligosaccharides are increasingly used in the human diet for their prebiotic properties. We aimed at investigating the effects of short-chain fructo-oligosaccharide ingestion on the colonic microflora and oro-fecal transit time in elderly healthy humans. Stools composition, oro-fecal transit time, and clinical tolerance were evaluated in 12 healthy volunteers, aged 69 +/- 2 yrs. Fecal bifidobacteria counts were significantly increased during the short-chain fructo-oligosaccharide period and returned to their initial values at the end of follow-up. Fecal cholesterol concentration increased during the short-chain fructo-oligosaccharide period and returned to the baseline value at the end of follow-up. Four-week 8 g/d short-chain fructo-oligosaccharide ingestion is well tolerated and leads to a significant increase in fecal bifidobacteria in healthy elderly subjects.