Advances in prebiotic mannooligosaccharides

Prebiotic mannooligosaccharides (MOS) are small chains of mannose that are known to confer health benefits to the consumers. At present, commercial MOS are derived by the degradation of yeast cell-wall mannans. MOS are also synthesized by the physicochemical or enzymatic treatment of naturally occurring mannans. Recently, these oligomers are being explored for their role in the modulation of beneficial gut microbiota of animals and their possible usage as functional food ingredients in humans. Experimental evidences strongly point out that dietary MOS impart numerous health benefits, including antineoplastic, immunomodulatory, and hypolipidemic effects, indicating that they have immense potential as a functional food ingredient. In this article, we present up-to-date developments related to the production and applications of MOS.