Wageningen Academic Beneficial Microbes, 2020; 11(2): 101-129 Publishers Effect of fructans, prebiotics and fibres on the human gut microbiome assessed by 16S rRNA-based approaches: a review K.S. Swanson1, W.M. de Vos2,3, E.C. Martens4, J.A. Gilbert5,6, R.S. Menon7, A. Soto-Vaca7, J. Hautvast8#, P.D. Meyer9, K. Borewicz2, E.E. Vaughan10* and J.L. Slavin11 1Division of Nutritional Sciences, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign,1207 W. Gregory Drive, Urbana, IL 61801, USA; 2Laboratory of Microbiology, Wageningen University, Stippeneng 4, 6708 WE, Wageningen, the Netherlands; 3Human Microbiome Research Programme, Faculty of Medicine, University of Helsinki, Haartmaninkatu 3, P.O. Box 21, 00014, Helsinki, Finland; 4Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Michigan, 1150 West Medical Center Drive, Ann Arbor, MI 48130, USA; 5Microbiome Center, Department of Surgery, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, USA; 6Bioscience Division, Argonne National Laboratory, 9700 S Cass Ave, Lemont, IL 60439, USA; 7The Bell Institute of Health and Nutrition, General Mills Inc., 9000 Plymouth Ave N, Minneapolis, MN 55427, USA; 8Division Human Nutrition, Department Agrotechnology and Food Sciences, P.O. Box 17, 6700 AA, Wageningen University; 9Nutrition & Scientific Writing Consultant, Porfierdijk 27, 4706 MH Roosendaal, the Netherlands; 10Sensus (Royal Cosun), Oostelijke Havendijk 15, 4704 RA, Roosendaal, the Netherlands; 11Department of Food Science and Nutrition, University of Minnesota, 1334 Eckles Ave, St. Paul, MN 55108, USA;
[email protected]; #Emeritus Professor Received: 27 May 2019 / Accepted: 15 December 2019 © 2020 Wageningen Academic Publishers OPEN ACCESS REVIEW ARTICLE Abstract The inherent and diverse capacity of dietary fibres, nondigestible oligosaccharides (NDOs) and prebiotics to modify the gut microbiota and markedly influence health status of the host has attracted rising interest.