Prebiotic properties of levan in rats

Abstract

Generally, two different types of fructose polymer are found in nature. One is inulin, whose fructosyl residues are linked mainly by a β-(2,1)-linkage, while the other is high-molecular-weight levan, whose fructosyl residues are linked mainly by a β-(2,6)-linkage. In contrast to the extensive studies on the prebiotic properties of inulin, there has been no report on the effect of levan on the large bowel microflora in vivo. Therefore, to examine whether dietary levan can be used as a prebiotic, Sprague-Dawley male rats were fed one of two diets for 3 weeks: 1 ) basal diet plus sucrose