Arabinoxylans and human health

• Arabinoxylans and arabinoxylan oligosaccharides show prebiotic activity.
• They also exhibit immunomodulatory and antitumor activity.
• Current research dealing with the health benefits of arabinoxylans is highlighted.

Arabinoxylans (AX) are the main noncellulose polysaccharide in cereals and grasses. It is a polymer of xylose onto which arabinofuranosyl is substituted. The hydrolysis of AX with AX degrading enzymes result in its hydrolysis products called arabinoxylan oligosaccharides (AXOS). Both AX and AXOS are considered as dietary fibers and have been shown to have many health benefits including immunomodulatory activity, cholesterol lowering activity, attenuate type II diabetes, enhanced absorption of certain minerals, fecal bulking effect, and prebiotics effect, etc. With the interest in a healthy diet, dietary fibers such as AX and AXOS are becoming increasingly popular in the food and feed industry. However, compared to the other commonly studied dietary fibers such as fructo-oligosaccharide, AX have not been studied extensively. The purpose of this review is to concise the current research related to AX and its health benefits and thereby encourage in depth studies in this area.

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