Fructan

Fructan is a heterogeneous class of plant-derived polysaccharides composed mainly of β(2→1) or β(2→6)-linked fructose residues, often with a terminal glucose from sucrose. Fructans serve as storage carbohydrates in many plants and are found in foods such as wheat, onions, garlic, and artichokes. In human health, fructans are not digested in the small intestine and thus act as prebiotic dietary fibers, being fermented by gut microbiota into short-chain fatty acids that have broad beneficial effects on metabolic and gastrointestinal health. Fructans are not molecular targets of drugs, nor are they considered proteins, enzymes, receptors, or classic therapeutic targets, but play important nutritional and biochemical roles.

Other names

inulinfructooligosaccharide (FOS)levangraminanneoinulinneolaven

Fermented by gut microbiota to produce SCFAs (acetate, butyrate, propionate), which modulate metabolism Prebiotic action stimulates beneficial bacteria (e.g., bifidobacteria, lactobacilli)