OLIGOSACCHARIDE COMPOSITIONS AND THEIR USE DURING TRANSITIONAL PHASES OF THE MAMMALIAN GUT MICROBIOME

摘要

This invention provides compositions of oligosaccharides, their preparation, and their use to facilitate the growth of certain beneficial gut bacteria over other gut bacteria in a mammal in order to prevent gastrointestinal distress associated with a major change in gut microflora, such as that which occurs when an infant is weaned from its mother's milk to alternative food sources, or during the recovery of the gut microbiome after a course of oral antibiotics, hospitalization, therapy such as chemotherapy or radiation treatments, or conditions where a deficiency in dietary fiber is observed. Novel compositions of oligosaccharides, oligosaccharides and bacteria, foods comprising those compositions, and methods of preparation and use of those compositions are described.