ABSTRACT
As key nutrients in the delivery of energy, carbohydrates are essential components of the human diet. Moreover, carbohydrates play a substantial role as structural and energy-storing materials of the human body. They regulate physiological and metabolic functions such as appetite, intake of minerals, and level of bile acids and cholesterol. Selected carbohydrates (prebiotics) are also used as nutrients for human commensals, that is, colonic bacteria (probiotics).
