oligosaccharide (COS), galacto-oligosaccharide (GtOS) and FOS have
been added to maize starch-based edible films for prebiotic purposes
and have been shown to promote the growth of the probiotic bacteria
Bifidobacterium infantis ATCC 15697 and Lactobacillus fermentum ATCC
9398 (Tang et al., 2015). In addition to the prebiotic effect, these compounds
have also affected the physical properties of the edible films,
which have shown impaired tensile strength and boosted extensibility
when compared to prebiotic-free (control) films. According to the authors,
this plasticization effect may be attributed to the much smaller
molecular weights of the prebiotics than that of starch