Abstract

COSTA, Francisca et al. GALACTOOLIGOSACCHARIDES: ARE THERE EFFECTS ON THE HUMAN MICROBIOTA?. Acta Port Nutr [online]. 2022, n.31, pp.84-89.  Epub Aug 01, 2023. ISSN 2183-5985.  https://doi.org/10.21011/apn.2022.3114.

Galactooligosaccharides are called “prebiotics”, since they are non-digestible carbohydrates that confer several benefits to the health of the host, including the modulation of the intestinal microbiota. They can be ingested naturally by consuming foods that contain them in their composition, by consuming foods enriched in them or through supplementation. A literature review was carried out, with a search in the Pubmed, Google Scholar and Science Direct databases, with the keywords ''galacto-oligosaccharides' AND "effects" AND "microbiota" AND ''health'', between 2017 and 2022, with the aim of understanding how the ingestion of Galactooligosaccharides can influence the human intestinal microbiota. The results of most articles showed a positive correlation between the consumption of Galactooligosaccharides, whether from food or supplementation, with the beneficial modulation of the intestinal microbiota, increasing the number of beneficial bacteria and reducing the harmful ones, in any age group. Thus, the adoption of a diet enriched in Galactooligosaccharides could be an effective strategy in situations of dysbiosis, acting in a preventive and beneficial way in the improvement of the intestinal microbiota.

Keywords : Effects; Galacto-oligosaccharides; Microbiota; Health.

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