In vitro assessment of prebiotic properties of oligosaccharides derived from four microbial polysaccharides

Xanthan gum oligosaccharides (XGOS), gellan gum oligosaccharides (GGOS), pullulan oligosaccharides (POS) and curdlan oligosaccharides (COS) were in a degree of polymerization (DP) of 2–15. The in vitro prebiotic properties of these oligosaccharides were investigated by cultivating Lactobacillus sp., Bifidobacterium sp. and human fecal bacteria. POS and COS were selectively utilized by Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium strains, resulting in enhanced bacterial growth and lactic and acetic acid production. When these oligosaccharides were used for cultivating healthy human fecal bacteria, POS and COS prefer to enrich Bifidobacterium and Bacteroides , respectively, accompanied by increased SCFAs level. XGOS significantly increased Bacteroides and butyric acid-producing bacteria proliferation and the butyric acid production over a 12–24 h fermentation. GGOS showed similar effects as XGOS due to their shared β (1 → 4) glycosidic bonds. These results demonstrated that COS, POS, XGOS and GGOS are potential as prebiotics. XGOS exerted the best prebiotic effects in enriching the beneficial Bacteroides and butyric acid-producing bacteria proliferation and increasing the SCFAs level.