Fructooligosaccharides production and the health benefits of prebiotics

Dietary prebiotics have been associated with the prevention and treatment of many 21st-century diseases. Prebiotics’ health benefits have been linked to microbiome–host complex interactions, modulating microbiota homeostasis, gut–brain axis, microbiota–immune system crosstalk, and the intestine barrier function. There is therefore huge interest from industry in successfully developing bioprocesses for their production. Fructooligosaccharides (FOS) production at a large scale is clearly of the utmost importance as their health benefits have been reported in numerous studies. This chapter provides an overview of the emergent biotechnological processes being developed to produce FOSs with a high conversion yield and content. Taking into consideration that new compounds are now appearing as promising prebiotic candidates due to the recently established definition of prebiotics, current studies of prebiotic effects on specific diseases, including well-established and emergent prebiotics, are also reviewed, including information on the dosage administered, its mechanisms of action, and evidence found.