Oligofructose-enriched inulin stimulates calcium absorption and bone mineralisation

Among the components likely to be used in functional foods, prebiotics show interesting properties, and some are already recognised and used as food ingredients. A prebiotic has been defined as 'a non-digestible food ingredient that beneficially affects the host by selectively stimulating the growth and/or activity of one or a limited number of bacteria in the colon, and thus improves host health'. Inulin and oligofructose are the best-studied prebiotics so far. They are selectively fermented by the microflora in the human colon leading to a bacterial composition that is dominated by bifi-dobacteria, a perceived health-promoting genus. In this paper, the effects of these prebiotics, especially oligofructose-enriched inulin, on calcium absorption and bone metabolism are reviewed.