Fructooligosaccharide and gut bacteria in obese mice
What it found
In mice with a human-type gut bacteria, short-chain fructooligosaccharide changed the mix of gut bacteria and many metabolic markers, and lowered insulin later in a glucose test.
This was an animal study.
What they found
Animal and lab studies
Weight and fat
Mice on the two high-fat diets gained at least 21% more weight than control mice. Adding short-chain fructooligosaccharide partly reduced fat buildup and led to lower feed intake.
Gut bacteria changes
Short-chain fructooligosaccharide increased Bifidobacteria and the Clostridium coccoides group, and decreased the Clostridium leptum group in the feces. Two species, Ruminococcus torques and Dorea longicatena, appeared only with the supplement.
Insulin during glucose test
Blood glucose response did not differ between groups. Insulin at 60 minutes after a glucose load was lower in mice on the high-fat diet with short-chain fructooligosaccharide than in those on the high-fat diet without it.
Metabolic markers
Short-chain fructooligosaccharide changed many substances in feces, urine, and blood, especially bile acids and hydroxylated fatty acids. These changes were linked to the shifts in C. coccoides and C. leptum.
Cecum weight
Mice receiving short-chain fructooligosaccharide had heavier empty and full ceca, which the authors say indicates more fermentation in the gut.
What the authors conclude
“In conclusion scFOS induce profound metabolic changes by modulating the composition and the activity of the intestinal microbiota, that may partly explain their effect on the reduction of insulinaemia.”
Also in their conclusions
- They conclude that short-chain fructooligosaccharide causes deep metabolic changes by altering the gut bacteria and their activity, which may partly explain the fall in insulin.
- They say these results may depend on the human gut bacteria used and may not apply to everyone.
- They suggest that the same approach could be done in people to study how short-chain fructooligosaccharide works.
How it was done
The authors wanted to see whether changes in gut bacteria from short-chain fructooligosaccharide are linked to the body's handling of sugar and fats, since fibre fermentation in the colon may affect blood glucose and insulin.
They gave 48 mice a human gut bacteria sample, then fed them for 7 weeks one of three diets: control, high fat, or high fat with 10% short-chain fructooligosaccharide. They measured body weight, fat, gut bacteria, blood markers, and metabolic profiles.
What it can’t tell you
- This was a study in mice with a human-type gut bacteria, so it cannot show what happens in people.
- The authors say the results may depend on the specific human gut bacteria used and may not be generalizable.
- The study cannot prove that the bacterial changes directly cause the metabolic changes; it only shows links.
Who paid
- Conflicts
- Competing Interests: This study received funding from “Beghin-Meiji”, a company producing shortchain fructooliogsaccharides belonging to the company “Tereos”. This study received funding from “les Termes de Brides les Bains”. FR and AW are employed by Tereos-Syral. There are no further patents, products in development or marketed products to declare. This does not alter the authors’ adherence to all the PLOS ONE policies on sharing data and materials.
The paper
- Title
- Short-chain fructo-oligosaccharides modulate intestinal microbiota and metabolic parameters of humanized gnotobiotic diet induced obesity mice
- Type
- Study
- Evidence
- Animals and lab studies
- Summarised from
- Full text
- Cite
- Respondek F, Gerard P, Bossis M, et al (2013). Short-chain fructo-oligosaccharides modulate intestinal microbiota and metabolic parameters of humanized gnotobiotic diet induced obesity mice. PloS one. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0071026Free full textPubMed 23951074DOI
Summary written 26 Sep 2026. Check it against the paper before it changes what you eat. How we summarise papers · Report an error