Ferulated Arabinoxylans and Their Gels: Functional Properties and Potential Application as Antioxidant and Anticancer Agent

Table 2

In vivo studies on the evaluation of the prebiotic effect of AX.

Animal model	Diet/experimental time	Findings	Reference
Male chickens	Control diet (CT), diet supplemented with XOS, wheat bran-derived AXOS, wheat endosperm alkali-solubilized AX. 2 w	All treatments increased bifidobacteria. AX decreased body weight gain after 2 weeks of feeding compared with CT.	[89]
Male C57bl6/J mice	Control diet, high-fat (HF) diet, HF diet supplemented with AX. 4 w	HF diet supplemented with AX restored microbiota with a major effect on Roseburia spp., Bacteroides-Prevotella spp., and bifidobacteria.; Improvement of gut barrier function, decrease in adipocyte size, fatty acid uptake, fatty acid oxidation and inflammation, and decrease in key lipogenic enzyme activity in the subcutaneous adipose tissue.	[39]
Male germ-free Fisher 344 albino rats inoculated with human faecal microbiota	Control diet, diet supplemented with long-chain AX (LC-AX) and diet supplemented with inulin (IN). 6 w	LC-AX and IN increased SCFA levels (propionate and butyrate, resp.). Stimulation of butyrate-producing bacteria and bifidobacteria, respectively. Reduction of mucin-degrading Akkermansia muciniphila and more mucin production by the host. Less weight gain.	[90]
Male Wistar rats	Diets supplemented with WU-AX, WE-AX, and AXOS. 14 days	WU-AX supplementation increased butyrate production and butyrate-producing bacteria. WE-AX and/or AXOS reduced pH, suppressed relevant markers of proteolytic breakdown, and induced selective bifidogenic response. Combination of WU-AX, WE-AX, and AXOS showed a synergic effect.	[91]
Male C57bl6/J mice	Control diet, high-fat (HF) diet, HF diet supplemented with AXOS. 8 w	AXOS supplementation exerted a bifidogenic effect. Improvement of the HF-induced body weight gain, fat mass development, hyperinsulinemia, insulin resistance, endotoxemia, and inflammatory disorders in a model of HF diet-induced obesity.	[13]
Pigs	Low dietary fiber and high-fat diet (WSD), AX-rich diet (AXD), and resistant starch diet (RS). 3 w	AXD feeding shifted the microbial composition towards butyrogenic species in the faeces and increased the large-intestinal butyrate pool size.	[59]

w: week.