Advances in the manufacture, purification and applications of xylo-oligosaccharides as food additives and nutraceuticals

Recent developments on the manufacture, purification and biological effects of xylo-oligosaccharides are reviewed. Xylo-oligosaccharides (XO) can be produced by chemical and/or enzymatic methods from a variety of xylan-containing raw materials, and then refined by physicochemical treatments. Considered as food ingredients, xylo-oligosaccharides have favourable technological properties and cause prebiotic effects derived from their ability to modulate the intestinal function. Besides the effects related to their effects in the large bowel, a range of additional biological activities have been reported for XO. Other topic discussed include the utilization of XO in synbiotic preparations, their technological properties and market perspectives.