SELECTED FRUCTOOLIGOSACCHARIDE (1-KESTOSE, NYSTOSE, AND 1(F)-BETA-FRUCTOFURANOSYLNYSTOSE) COMPOSITION OF FOODS AND FEEDS

Fructooligosaccharides (FOS) are naturally occurring sugars with poten tially beneficial nutritional effects. They are widely distributed thr oughout the plant kingdom. An ion chromatographic method was developed to rapidly and accurately measure FOS in selected food and feed ingre dients ingested by humans and animals. The objective of this study was to determine the 1-kestose (1-kestotriose; GF(2)), nystose (1,1-kesto tetraose; GF(3)), and 1(F)-beta-fructofuranosylnystose (1,1,1-kestopen taose; GF(4)) content of a wide variety of foods and feedstuffs. After extraction with water and appropriate filtration, samples were chroma tographed, using an alkaline sodium acetate gradient, through an ion e xchange column and guard fitted to a Dionex chromatography unit equipp ed with a pulsed electrochemical detector. All samples were prepared b oth with and without spikes of standards to verify recovery and peak i dentification. Samples of the Compositae family were highest in total FOS followed by Allium species of the Amaryllidadeae family. The metho d provided excellent separation, recovery, and quantification of the G F(n) units of FOS. Accurate quantitation of FOS will allow more precis e nutritional formulations to be developed with respect to inclusion o f this functional food component in human and animal diets.