Dietary polysaccharides and oligosaccharides

Dietary polysaccharides and oligosaccharides are complex carbohydrates that serve as critical nutritional components and modulators of the human gastrointestinal environment (Slavin, 2013, Nutrients). This broad category includes digestible starches and non-digestible dietary fibers such as cellulose, inulin, and fructo-oligosaccharides (FDA, 2022). While digestible forms provide a primary energy source, non-digestible forms reach the large intestine where they are fermented by the gut microbiota to produce short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) like butyrate and propionate (Koh et al., 2016, Cell). These SCFAs act as ligands for specific G protein-coupled receptors, such as GPR41 and GPR43, influencing systemic inflammation, glucose homeostasis, and appetite regulation (StatPearls, 2023). In a pharmacological context, these molecules are not traditional protein targets; rather, they are the substrates for enzymes like alpha-glucosidase, which are targeted by drugs such as acarbose to manage type 2 diabetes by slowing carbohydrate absorption. Therapeutic interest in these compounds focuses on their prebiotic potential to restore microbial diversity and alleviate metabolic and inflammatory diseases.

Other names

Dietary fiberPrebioticsComplex carbohydratesNon-starch polysaccharides (NSP)Resistant starchFructo-oligosaccharides (FOS)Galacto-oligosaccharides (GOS)

Inhibition of alpha-glucosidase and alpha-amylase enzymes to delay the hydrolysis of polysaccharides into absorbable monosaccharides; fermentation by colonic bacteria into short-chain fatty acids that activate host G protein-coupled receptors.