Prebiotic effect of Arabinoxylans and Arabinoxylan-Oligosaccharides and the relationship with good health promotion

Arabinoxylans are polysaccharides present in grains and as such, are part of dietary fiber intake in humans and animals. Enzymatic or chemical hydrolysis of arabinoxylans produces arabinoxilo-oligosaccharides, which can be branched or unbranched with arabinose. The objective of this work was to describe the potential use of arabinoxylans and arabinoxylan-oligosaccharides as prebiotics to promote good health, by selective enhancement of beneficial colonic microbiota growth and metabolic activity. The information generated indicates that arabinoxylans and arabinoxyl an-oligosaccharides act by modifying the microbiota selectively and stimulate the biological response favoring good health in the host, by antio-obesity effect, glucose regulator, antioxidant, anticancer, immunomodulator, with similar or better results than recognized prebiotics. However, it is necessary to expand the knowledge we have about arabinoxylans in order to support their application in the food, pharmaceutical, and biomedical industry.