EFFECTS OF ISOMALTOOLIGOSACCHARIDES WITH DIFFERENT DEGREES OF POLYMERIZATION ON HUMAN FECAL BIFIDOBACTERIA

IMO, a commercially available mixture of isomaltooligosaccharides, was fractionated by preparative HPLC, and two fractions (IMO2 and IMO3) w ere obtained. IMO2 contained mainly disaccharides (86.4%), which TMO3 contained tri- and higher oligosaccharides (89.9%). The administration of IMO2 or IMO3, ranging in amount from 5 to 20 g/day, increased huma n intestinal bifidobacteria in dose-dependent manner. An IMO2 intake o f 10 g/day and IMO3 of 5 g/day each produced a significant increase of bifidobacterial number in feces and the ratio in fecal microflora wit hin 12 days.