Functional Characteristics of Soybean Oligosaccharide

To enjoy a healthy life, it is important to have a well-balanced diet. However, in today's society, there is an increase in the consumption of preprocessed foods and frequency of eating out. Also the western diet, which is becoming move popular worldwide, contains relatively high levels of protein and fat, and a low amount of fiber, Furthermore, the increased availability of favorite foods has created a condition were the individual diet is less variable. With these conditions, it is difficult to maintain a diet that is nutritionally balanced. With these unbalanced diets, which are difficult to change, there has been an increase in adult disease and health problems, such as colon and breast cancer, It is speculated that metabolites for carcinogens are produced from diet components and that intestinal bacteria contribute to the production of these metabolites. Therefore, it is necessary to evaluate the relationships between health, diet, and intestinal microflora. Soybean oligosaccharide is composed of water-soluble saccharides that have been extracted from soybean whey, a by-product from the production of soy protein. This is mainly a mixture of mono-, di-, tri-, and tetrasac-charides, with the principle components being the oligosaccharide raffinose and stachyose. When consumed by humans, the oligosaccharides cannot be digested in the human duodenal and small intestinal mucosa, and these are selectively utilized by beneficial bifidobacteria in intestines. The results of acute and subacute toxicity tests, soy-bean oligosaccharides were nonpoisonous. Soybean oligosaccharides promote the growth of indigenous bifido-bacteria in the colon which by their antagonistic effects, suppress the activity of putrefactive bacteria. Also, they reduce toxic metabolites, detrimental enzymes and plasma lipid, and increase in the frequency of bowel evacuation and fecal quantities. Consequently, soybean oligosaccharides as functional foods components have potential roles in the prevention and medical treatment of chronic adult diseases. The study of processing property and physiological function of soybean oligosacchavides and development of high oligosaccharide variety allow the creation of new and exciting foodstuffs that aye functional healthy.

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