Prebiotics are a group of nondigestible carbohydrates that promote the growth of healthy bacteria in the human gut. In recent years, major infant formula brands have added prebiotics to their lines to promote baby’s digestive health, while most yogurt manufacturers have eliminated prebiotics from their product formulation.
Traditional criteria to qualify an ingredient as a prebiotic include: resistance to digestion in the stomach and small intestine, ability to be fermented by intestinal microflora and capability to selectively stimulate the growth of beneficial bacteria. Prebiotic ingredients which meet these criteria that have been widely used by the food industry include galactosaccharides (GOS), and the inulin-type fructans including the subcategory of fructooligosaccharides (FOS). Other prebiotics include lactulose, polydextrose, human milk oligosaccharides (HMO) and resistant corn starch.