FOS & GOS

Human milk oligosaccharides play an important role in the development of an infant's immune system and may explain the reduced incidence of allergic disorders in breastfed children. Oligosaccharides resist digestion in the digestive tract and are instead fermented in the large intestine stimulating the production of microflora (the good bacteria), in other words they have prebiotic effect on the intestine. The microflora serves as a defence mechanism against invading pathogens. Oligosaccharide mixtures of short-chain galacto-oligosaccharides (GOS) and long-chain fructo-oligosaccharides (FOS) have been developed to resemble the human milk oligosaccharides. Supplementation with FOS & GOS in infants has been shown to effectively stimulate the turnover of the appropriate bacteria in the large intestine which in turn stimulates and enhances the mucosal immune system.