Advances in the manufacture, purification and applications of xylo-oligosaccharides as food additives and nutraceuticals

Recent developments on the manufacture, purification and biological effects of xylo-oligosaccharides are reviewed. Xylo-oligosaccharides (XO) can be produced by chemical and/or enzymatic methods from a variety of xylan-containing raw materials, and then refined by physicochemical treatments. Considered as food ingredients, xylo-oligosaccharides have favourable technological properties and cause prebiotic effects derived from their ability to modulate the intestinal function. Besides the effects related to their effects in the large bowel, a range of additional biological activities have been reported for XO. Other topic discussed include the utilization of XO in synbiotic preparations, their technological properties and market perspectives. (c) 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.