Applications and prospects of functional oligosaccharides in pig nutrition:A review

Oligosaccharides are low molecular weight carbohydrates between monosaccharides and poly-saccharides,which consist of 2 to 20 monosaccharides linked by glycosidic bonds.They have the effects of promoting growth,regulating immunity,improving the structure of intestinal flora,and are anti-inflammatory and antioxidant.With the comprehensive implementation of the antibiotic prohibition policy in China,oligosaccharides as new green feed additive have been paid more attention.Oligosac-charides can be divided into the following 2 categories according to their digestive characteristics:one is easy to be absorbed by the intestine,called common oligosaccharides,such as sucrose and maltose oligosaccharide;the other is difficult to be absorbed by the intestine and has special physiological functions,called functional oligosaccharides.The common functional oligosaccharides include mannan oligosaccharides(MOS),fructo-oligosaccharides(FOS),chitosan oligosaccharides(COS),xylo-oligosaccharides(XOS)and so on.In this paper,we review the types and sources of functional oligo-saccharides,their application in pig nutrition,and the factors limiting their efficacy in recent years.This review provides the theoretical basis for further research of functional oligosaccharides,and the future application of alternative antibiotics in pig industry.

Sucrose-free hawthorn leathers formulated with fructooligosaccharides and xylooligosaccharides ameliorate high-fat diet induced inflammation, glucose and lipid metabolism in liver of mice

High sucrose content in traditional hawthorn leathers limits the potential consumption, particularly for elders and diabetics. In this study, sucrose-free hawthorn leathers were formulated with 75% fructooligosaccharides(FOS) and 25% xylooligosaccharides(XOS)(HLF75), which exhibited comparable morphology and sensory properties to the traditional ones. Then, the anti-obesity activity of HLF75 was investigated using high-fat diet(HFD) fed C57BL/6J mice. Comparing with traditional hawthorn leathers, HLF75 supplementation in HFD significantly decreased the levels of blood glucose and serum lipid. The histomorphologies of liver and subcutaneous fat tissues were ameliorated by HLF75, as well as the down-regulated m RNA expression levels of IL-1β, Nos2 and Cox-2 in the liver. M oreover, the protein levels of M y D88 and NF-κB in the liver were suppressed by HLF75 treatment with decreased F4/80-positive macrophage number. Ho wever, the expression levels of PI3K, phosphorylated-AKT(Thr308), and phosphorylated-m TOR(Ser2448) proteins related to glucose metabolism were increased in the liver. Moreover, fat synthesis-related gene expression in HLF75-fed mice was suppressed while expressions of lipolysis genes were improved. Thus, HLF75 supplementation alleviated HFD-induced obesity through the alleviation of inflammation and restoration of the disturbed glucose and lipid metabolism. Functional oligosaccharides could be effective sucrose substitutes in hawthorn leathers and enable their potential utilization as functional foods.