Safety and Modulatory Effects of Humanized Galacto-Oligosaccharides on the Gut Microbiome

26 May Safety and Modulatory Effects of Humanized Galacto-Oligosaccharides on the Gut Microbiome

Complex dietary carbohydrate structures including β(1–4) galacto-oligosaccharides (GOS) are resistant to digestion in the upper gastrointestinal (GI) tract and arrive intact to the colon where they benefit the host by selectively stimulating microbial growth. Studies have reported the beneficial impact of GOS (alone or in combination with other prebiotics) by serving as metabolic substrates for modulating the assembly of the infant gut microbiome while reducing GI infections. N-Acetyl-D-lactosamine (LacNAc, Galβ1,4GlcNAc) is found in breast milk as a free disaccharide. This compound is also found as a component of human milk oligosaccharides (HMOs), which have repeating and variably branched lactose and/or LacNAc units, often attached to sialic acid and fucose monosaccharides.