SHOW

There is some evidence from clinical trials that orally administered oligo-/polysaccharides may exert effects on immune defense. In a double-blind randomised placebo-controlled trial 239 individuals aged 67 7 years with a BMI 27 4 kg/m2 were subjected to a low dietary fibre background diet and assigned to a 5-week intervention with 6 parallel arms: Beta-glucan from yeast, shiitake and oat, respectively, arabinoxylan (AX) from wheat, exopolysaccharides from L. mucosae and maltodextrin (control). After 2 weeks intervention influenza vaccination was performed. Antibody response (HI-titres) differed (Kruskal-Wallis ANOVA), whereby differences of GMFI, alteration of seroprotection rate and seroconversion rate against influenza AH1N1 were most pronounced, particularly in the AX group. Cellular immunity as assessed by cytokine release (IL-1, IL-2, IL-12, IFNy, TNF?, IL-10) from full blood differed in INFy and was higher in the AX group compared to the control. Respiratory tract infections were lower in the AX group compared to control.