ABSTRACT

I. Introduction ................................................................................................781 II. Description and Natural Occurrence ..........................................................782 III. Epidemiology and Animal Studies ............................................................783 IV. Experimental Design ..................................................................................784 V. Effect on Microflora ..................................................................................786 VI. Fermentation, SCFA, and pH ....................................................................787 VII. Cell Proliferation ........................................................................................789 VIII. Preneoplastic Changes (ACF) ....................................................................790 IX. Other Clinical Effects ................................................................................791 X. Conclusions ................................................................................................792 References ..............................................................................................................793

Inulin-type fructans are a class of nondigestible carbohydrates naturally occurring in edible plants such as chicory, Jerusalem artichoke, and onions, and serve as the plants, main storage carbohydrate.1 All the fructans of dietary interest are, as far as is known, of the inulin-type and will be the fructans of focus in this chapter. Fructans encompass both the short-chain fructooligosaccharides (FOS) and the longer chain inulin. The estimated average daily intake per capita of inulin-type fructans from natural