Enzymatic Conversion of Mannan-Rich Plant Waste Biomass into Prebiotic Mannooligosaccharides

A growing demand in novel food products for well-being and preventative medicine has attracted global attention on nutraceutical prebiotics. Various plant agro-processes produce large amounts of residual biomass considered “wastes”, which can potentially be used to produce nutraceutical prebiotics, such as manno-oligosaccharides (MOS). MOS can be produced from the degradation of mannan. Mannan has a main backbone consisting of β-1,4-linked mannose residues (which may be interspersed by glucose residues) with galactose substituents. Endo-β-1,4-mannanases cleave the mannan backbone at cleavage sites determined by the substitution pattern and thus give rise to different MOS products. These MOS products serve as prebiotics to stimulate various types of intestinal bacteria and cause them to produce fermentation products in different parts of the gastrointestinal tract which benefit the host. This article reviews recent advances in understanding the exploitation of plant residual biomass via the enzymatic production and characterization of MOS, and the influence of MOS on beneficial gut microbiota and their biological effects (i.e., immune modulation and lipidemic effects) as observed on human and animal health.