Prebiotic Agave fructans: Immune aspects

Fructans, a heterogeneous mixture of fructose polymers, are increasingly being added to foodstuffs and medical treatments with claims of health benefits. In Mexico, fructans are isolated from the Agaves and are considered prebiotics. Little progress has been made on the study of the beneficial effects of agave fructans in the field of research on prebiotics despite the work of the past decade. Furthermore, almost nothing is known about the effects of agave fructans intake on the immune system. For this reason, many additional studies are needed to understand the direct or indirect effect of these compounds, the structure-function relationship, and the mechanisms of interaction with the immune system. This chapter is a compilation of the studies that focus on agave fructans.