ABSTRACT
From the simple and valued sentence of Hippocrates “Let food be your medicine,” we started to learn that bers, including fructans and fructooligosaccharides (FOS), are more than roughage. e bers are in fact all around us, in
4.1 Introduction 75 4.2 History of Allium Species 76 4.3 History of Fructooligosaccharides and Fructans 77 4.4 Diet and Edible Allium Species 78 4.5 Fructooligosaccharides of Allium Species 79
4.5.1 Chemistry 79 4.5.2 Structural Composition 79 4.5.3 FOS Occurrence in Edible Allium Species 81
4.6 Biosynthesis Pathways of FOS in Allium Species 85 4.7 Mechanism of Hydrolysis of FOS 86 4.8 Biotechnology and Breeding of High-FOS Allium Species 89 4.9 Putative and Potential Health Benets of FOS 90
4.9.1 FOS and Cancer Prevention 91 4.9.2 FOS and Lipids Metabolism 92 4.9.3 Prebiotic Eects of FOS 93 4.9.4 Action of FOS on Mineral Absorption 94 4.9.5 Actions of FOS on Glycemia and Insulinemia 94
4.10 Concluding Remarks and Future Directions 95 References 96
fruits, vegetables, whole grains, breads and cereals, beans, and other legumes, but still majority of people have trouble getting even minimal amounts of bers in their daily diets because of many reasons such as feeding customs, life style, and even some personal beliefs.
