Prebiotics are defined as non-digestible dietary ingredients that selectively promote the growth of beneficial gut microorganisms. Inulin is described to have several positive effects on human health. Inulin intake reduces insulin resistance, has anti-inflammatory activity and anti-carcinogenic properties. The selectivity of inulin for promoting growth of a restricted set of microorganisms has, however, not been systematically evaluated. In the present study, we used different sorting techniques to evaluate which microorganisms are stimulated by the widely-used prebiotic inulin. Our findings indicate that inulin is not as selective in promoting growth of specific taxa as has been previously suggested, and interestingly, seems to stimulate the growth of different species by not-yet described utilization pathways. Sequencing was performed at the Joint Microbiome Facility of the Medical University of Vienna and the University of Vienna under the project ID JMF-2009-4.
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