Interest in consumption of prebiotics and probiotics to improve human gastrointestinal health is increasing. Consumption of beneficial probiotic bacteria combined with oligosaccharides may enhance colonic bacterial composition and improve internal health. The objectives of this article are to review existing literature concerning the effect of synbiotic foods on the composition and activity of the colonic microbiota, and efficiency of functional attributes of synbiotic foods in formulation and development of new dairy products.

The main physiological functions of inulin and the method of extraction were pressented. The study on productions of fructose and oligo-fructose made from inulin and the applications and development prospects of it in the food industry were also introduced.

The intestinal microbiota may thus be identified as an important target for improving health through reduced disease risk. Here, the application of prebiotics, especially the inulin-type fructans, and synbiotics (prebiotics combined with efficacious probiotic strains) will be discussed in terms of microbiota modulation and impact on disease risk in the aged population. Recent human intervention studies have confirmed the microbiota modulatory capability of the inulin-type fructans in the elderly and there is some evidence for reduced risk of disease. However, there is a need for more and larger human intervention studies to determine the efficacy of prebiotics in the elderly, particularly studies that take advantage of recent high resolution analytical methodologies like metabonomics, to shed light on possible prebiotic mechanisms of action.

Inulin is a carbohydrate derived from plant sources, which belongs to a class of compounds known as fructans. And the fructose molecules are connected by β-(2-1)bonds. Industrially, inulin is produced from the flaked Jerusalem artichoke root. Inulin can be classified as a soluble fiber,which has many nutritional properties of dietary fibers. Since inulin gel has a bland flavor and a fat -like texture , it can be incorporated into various food preparations to replace sugar and fat

Fructooligosaccharides is applied widely for its unique health function. The function, application, manufacture and development of fructooligosaccharides are described in this paper