Table 2.
Type and characteristics of the fibers most commonly assessed in pediatric clinical trials.
| FIBER | TYPE | SOURCE | COMPONENTS | PREBIOTIC EFFECT |
Reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Glucomannan | Soluble | Japanese konjac plant | Polysaccharide of 1,4-d-glucose and d-mannose | YES | [26] |
| Acacia/Arabic gum | Soluble | Acacia trees (Leguminosae) | Anionic polysaccharide: l-arabinose, l-rhamnose, and d-glucuronic acid and 1,3-linked β-d-galactopyranosyl units | YES | [2,3] |
| Arabinoxylan | Soluble | Whole grains (endosperm and bran) | Hemicellulose, polymers of two pentose sugars: arabinose and 1,4-linked xylose units | YES | [3,29] |
| Beta-glucan | Soluble | endosperm of barley and oats | Glucose polysaccharide with Beta (1–4) (1–3) linkages ± branch points | YES | [3,12,17] |
| Bran | Soluble (oat bran); insoluble (wheat, rice, corn, bran) | outermost layer cereal grains | Non-starch polysaccharides, cellulose, hemicellulose, lignin | YES, as source of arabinoxylan-oligosaccharides (i.e., wheat bran) | [2,3] |
| Fructo-oligosaccharides (FOSs) | Soluble | many plants (i.e., garlic, chicory, onion, artichoke, and banana | Linear chains of fructose units linked by beta bonds. The number of fructose units ranges from 2 to 60 and often ends in a terminal glucose unit. | YES (>>Bifidobacteria) | [3,23,30] |
| Galactooligosaccharides (GOS) | Soluble | Dairy products, beans, certain root vegetables | They are produced commercially from lactose by β-galactosidase | YES | [2,20,23,24,31] |
| Inulin | Soluble | Chicory roots, artichokes, bananas, onion, garlic, and wheat | Fructose polymers (ranging from 2 to >60) that are linked by beta bonds and that terminate with a glucose unit | YES | [29,32] |
| Partially hydrolyzed guar gum | Soluble | Extracted from guar beans from the Cyamopsis tetragonolobus plant | High-molecular-weight polysaccharide: galactomannans of a linear chain of (1-4)-linked β-d-mannopyranosyl units with (1-6)-linked α-d-galactopyranosyl residues as side chains. The mannose: galactose ratio is approximately 2:1. | YES | [2,3,10] |
| Resistant starch | Soluble | Grains, starch or chemically modified starch | High-molecular carbohydrate: linear (amylose) and branched (amylopectin) chains of glucose residues. RS1 is a physically protected form of starch found in whole or partly milled grains; RS2 is present as raw granules; RS3 is retrograded starch, composed of crystallized starches produced via unique cooking and cooling processes; and RS4 is a chemically modified starch. |
YES | [2,3,29] |
| Dextrin | Soluble | Any starch source (corn, wheat, potatoes). There are as follows: white dextrin, yellow or canary dextrin, or British gums | Saccharide polymer linked primarily by alpha-(1 --> 4) d-glucose units and prepared by partial hydrolysis of starch | YES | [2] |
| Psyllium | Soluble | Seeds of the plant genus Plantago | Highly branched arabinoxylan | YES | [2] |