Abstract
Raffinose family oligosaccharides are important components in various plant products which 8have numbers of contributions to plant physiology and are non-digestible in monogastric 9animals and in human upper gut. Thus, they are passed into the lower gut without being digested where they are fermented and liberate a substantial amount of gas (CO2, H2 and CH4) which result in flatulence and hence can be considered as anti-nutritional factors as they cause abdominal discomfort, diarrhea, flatulence and others. RFOs are widely distributed in various crops. Leguminous plants for example are one of the most important plant food materials, for they are the concentrated and low cost sources of protein for the vegan population and low income societies. However, they are under-utilized in various countries specially developed countries because of the anti-nutritional factors including flatulence factor, raffinose family oligosaccharides. Apart from these anti-nutritional properties, RFOs is also among the important food components when consumed moderately. It is among the health promoting components of foods as it facilitates the growth of important microflora in the gut, enhance the activities of antioxidant enzyme system, hepatoprotective and other multiple health benefits. Therefore, it is very important to reduce RFOs to certain optimal amount only to reduce their adverse anti-nutritional effect and utilize their advantages.
Highlights
Raffinose family oligosaccharides (α-galactosides) are parts of the different compounds common in plant materials
Galactosyl derivatives of sucrose which in called raffinose family oligosaccarides including raffinose, stachyose and verbascose, which are flatulence factors need to be in low concentration in the seeds of crops both for enhancing utilization of these crops for food and providing improved utilizable energy for human being and monogastric animals
The antinutritional properties of raffinose family oligosaccharides (RFOs) is due to the fact that they cause flatulence, stomach ache, diarrhea and other similar discomfort owing to the absence of α-galactosidase enzyme in human and monogastric animals
Summary
Raffinose family oligosaccharides (α-galactosides) are parts of the different compounds common in plant materials. Raffinose family oligosaccharides are important components in carbohydrates mainly found in seeds and other common storage organs of many plants. They are generally recognized as the most extensively distributed compound in the plant kingdom [1]. It is sufficient to raise issues like development of food product and even plant breeding to indicate the importance of determining RFOs in plant food sources Food carbohydrates including these RFOs on the other hand are known of possessing wide range of chemical reactivity and molecular size [4]. Plant foods like legumes are known to cause flatulence specially when consumed raw or near raw It is these RFOs that are causing the problem though they might have health related advantages as well [6]. These two concepts are opposing each other and it is important to review some possible literatures and indicate both the anti-nutritional and nutritional implication of RFOs to indicate some concluding remarks
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