Abstract" prebiotic is a selectively fermented ingredient that results in specific changes in the composition and/or activity of the gastrointestinal microbiota, thus conferring benefit s upon host health. The most widely accepted prebiotics are lactulose, inulin, fructooligosaccharides FOS , galactooligosaccharides GOS , and the human milk oligosaccharides HMO . However, there is a growing list of potential prebiotics although the evidence for these, especially in humans, is not as well established as for FOS and GOS. Some of them are already commercialized but others such as polydextrose PDX , pectic oligosaccharides POS , bacterial exopolysaccharides EPS , polysaccharides derived from algae and sugar alcohols are still in the early stages of development. This chapter summarizes the scientific literature regarding the manufacture and the evaluation of the properties of this group emerging prebiotics . Keywords: emerging prebiotics, pectic oligosaccharides, polydextrose, algae-derived oligosaccharides, bacterial exopolysaccharides, sugar alcohols
. IntroductionThe consumption of prebiotics is being specially considered as a good health-improving strategy they have been recently defined as nondigestible compounds that through its metabolization by microorganisms in the gut, modulate the composition and/or the activity of the gut microbiota, thus conferring physiological benefit effects on the host health [ ].The microbial communities that inhabit the human intestinal tract constitute a complex association, comprising more than species and around microorganisms, mainly anaerobic > . % . levels of microorganisms and the main bacterial groups. "long the jejunum, and particularly in the ileum, there is a gradual increase in the number and diversity of bacteria, and finally, the majority of gastrointestinal microbes are housed in the colon [ ]. However, scientific works on this field suggest that the gut microbiota is not only a simply collection of microorganisms, but also reflects an interrelationship between the different groups that might work together for the benefit of the host [ ]. In addition, the microbiota also establishes a close symbiosis with the host humans provide the nutrients and the appropriate conditions for its development, and it performs three essential primary functions metabolic, trophic, and defensive [ ]. In fact, there is a long list of pathologies which are linked to the alteration of the gut microbiota, including hepatic encephalopathy, diarrhea, diabetes, obesity, colon cancer, I"S, I"D, gastrointestinal infections, and necrotizing enterocolitis [ , ].The composition of the gut microbiota is influenced by a variety of factors that include i the microbial species which are acquired at birth, ii host genetics, iii age [ ], iv diseases and antibiotic usage [ , ], v the stress [ ], and vi the diet. In fact, the diet is probably the most important factor and several studies are focused on the modulation of the gut microbiota by the consumption of functional foods, such as prebiotics [ ].For c...