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Review
. 2015 Nov 30;5(11):e185.
doi: 10.1038/nutd.2015.35.

The application of omics technologies in the functional evaluation of inulin and inulin-containing prebiotics dietary supplementation

M Tsurumaki  1 , M Kotake  1 , M Iwasaki  1 , M Saito  1 , K Tanaka  1 , W Aw  2   3 , S Fukuda  2   3 , M Tomita  1   2   3
Affiliations
Review

The application of omics technologies in the functional evaluation of inulin and inulin-containing prebiotics dietary supplementation

M Tsurumaki et al. Nutr Diabetes. .

Abstract

Inulin, a natural renewable polysaccharide resource produced by various plants in nature, has been reported to possess a significant number of diverse pharmaceutical and food applications. Recently, there has been rapid progress in high-throughput technologies and platforms to assay global mRNA, proteins, metabolites and gut microbiota. In this review, we will describe the current status of utilizing omics technologies of elucidating the impact of inulin and inulin-containing prebiotics at the transcriptome, proteome, metabolome and gut microbiome levels. Although many studies in this review have addressed the impact of inulin comprehensively, these omics technologies only enable us to understand physiological information at each different stage of mRNA, protein, metabolite and gut microbe. We believe that a synergistic approach is vital in order to fully illustrate the intricate beauty behind the relatively modest influence of food factors like inulin on host health.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Inulin or inulin-containing prebiotic fiber as a functional food. Inulin is a natural renewable polysaccharide resource produced by various plants in nature. Plant bulbs of Asteraceae: Jerusalem artichoke and chicory (Cichorium intybus) use it as a means for storing nutrients. Inulin is also included in dandelion and dahlia. Inulin fulfills the requirements of functional foods in the following manner: being a part of conventional everyday foods, to be consumed with the normal/usual diet as naturally occurring (as opposed to synthetic) components, sometimes in increased concentrations or present in foods that would not normally supply them, and having positive effects on target functions that may enhance health and well-being, as well as reduce disease risk.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Application of omics technologies in functional evaluation of inulin and inulin-containing prebiotic fibers. Inulin dietary intervention can regulate the key physiological functions such as lipid metabolism and composition of gut microbiota, and can reduce cancer risk. Omics technologies such as transcriptomics, proteomics, metabolomics, metagenomics of the gut microbiota and genomics of the gut microbes have been employed to elucidate the functionality of inulin supplementation.
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References

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