How to Use oligosaccharide in a Sentence

oligosaccharide

noun
  • This is due to oligosaccharides, a sugar in fiber that the body doesn't digest.
    — Nancy Lebrun, Verywell Health, 7 Feb. 2026
  • Beans, lentils, and chickpeas (high in galacto-oligosaccharides).
    — Brandi Jones, Verywell Health, 28 May 2026
  • The same oligosaccharides on red blood cells also appear on the surface of cells that line the small intestine.
    — Patricia L. Foster, The Conversation, 10 Jan. 2020
  • Onions and garlic contain oligosaccharides, which may cause symptoms in some people.
    — Amber J. Tresca, Verywell Health, 14 Jan. 2025
  • This process can help remove some of the oligosaccharides that leach into the water during soaking.
    — Kathleen Ferraro, Verywell Health, 8 June 2026
  • Norovirus and a few other viruses use these oligosaccharides to grab onto and infect the intestinal cells.
    — Patricia L. Foster, The Conversation, 10 Jan. 2020
  • Helps Digestion Dragon fruit is rich in dietary fiber and is made up of oligosaccharides.
    — Anna Giorgi, Verywell Health, 31 Mar. 2025
  • Helps Digestion Dragon fruit is rich in dietary fiber made up of oligosaccharides.
    — Anna Giorgi, Verywell Health, 8 Oct. 2024
  • Tofu may also benefit gut health thanks to its natural plant sugars (oligosaccharides).
    — Morgan Pearson, Verywell Health, 5 Sep. 2025
  • Researchers have also discovered that the oligosaccharides in human milk are different from those in the milk of other mammals.
    — Carl Zimmer, STAT, 30 May 2018
  • Also, clover honey has lower amounts of enzymes that break down chain sugars called oligosaccharides, which bacteria can use as energy.
    — Sarah Garone, Health, 16 Aug. 2024
  • Beans contain oligosaccharides, a type of carbohydrate chain made up of simple sugars that our bodies have trouble digesting.
    — Katie Rosenhouse, Southern Living, 30 Dec. 2025
  • Beans contain oligosaccharides, a type of carbohydrate chain made up of simple sugars that our bodies have trouble digesting.
    — Katie Rosenhouse, Southern Living, 31 Dec. 2024
  • Foods that are high in fiber and other digestion-resistant carbs, like oligosaccharides, and resistant starch don’t get completely broken down.
    — Tamar Haspel, Washington Post, 23 Aug. 2023
  • By contrast, certain strains of gut bacteria delight in oligosaccharides, multiplying in the guts of nursing infants.
    — Carl Zimmer, STAT, 30 May 2018
  • These include lactose, fructose, sugar alcohols and specific types of fiber — the oligosaccharides — found in many wheat, rye barley, beans, nuts and many vegetables.
    — Carrie Dennett, Washington Post, 4 Nov. 2019
  • Honey is mainly made of simple sugars (monosaccharides), but also contains more complex sugars, or oligosaccharides.
    — Mark Gurarie, Verywell Health, 26 Dec. 2025
  • As studies uncovered the importance of human milk oligosaccharides, so began attempts to mimic them in infant formula.
    — Alice Callahan, Smithsonian, 25 Oct. 2019
  • Bovine milk, which most formula is based on, however, contains a negligible oligosaccharide component.
    — Steven Townsend, Philly.com, 9 May 2018
  • Soaking the beans in water for 8 hours or overnight can help reduce the cooking time, and remove some oligosaccharides in the process, although not as effectively as soaking with baking soda.
    — Katie Rosenhouse, Southern Living, 30 Dec. 2025
  • The prebiotics that are commonly highlighted are oligosaccharides, which are a type of carbohydrate naturally found in a variety of plant foods.
    — Valerie Agyeman, Good Housekeeping, 21 Mar. 2023
  • In short, this concept tries to explain why oligosaccharides – which are indigestible to babies – are the third-most prominent component in milk, are complex in structure and are variable between species.
    — Enea Rezzonico, Scientific American, 17 Feb. 2015
  • Now Foods that commonly cause gas contain compounds called fructans—found in wheat, onion, artichokes and rye, to name a few—and also the galacto-oligosaccharides found in legumes, nuts and seeds, Muir says.
    — Markham Heid, Time, 18 Apr. 2018
  • And then there are the complex sugars called human milk oligosaccharides or HMOs that have long been neglected by the scientific community.
    — Steven Townsend, Philly.com, 9 May 2018
  • One third of human milk is composed of sugars called oligosaccharides, but babies cannot digest them; the sugars are food for microbes, which furnish infants with essential nutrients that grow their brains and proteins that seal their guts.
    — Jason Pontin, WIRED, 15 June 2018
  • But those oligosaccharides, those are for microbes, specifically one called Bifidobacterium longum infantis.
    — Sarah Fallon, WIRED, 28 July 2016
  • More specifically, many soluble fibers—like inulin and fructo- and galacto-oligosaccharides—can serve as prebiotics, or food sources for good bacteria (probiotics) that reside in the gut microbiome.
    — Carolyn L. Todd, SELF, 23 Feb. 2026
  • Both sugar- and gluten-free, each gummy promotes proper digestive health using fructo-oligosaccharide (FOS) prebiotic fiber.
    — Kait Hanson, Southern Living, 11 May 2026
  • Additionally, bovine milk oligosaccharides lack the structural complexity and diversity of HMOs.
    — Steven Townsend, Philly.com, 9 May 2018
  • Researchers in Ireland asserted that there is no fetal microbiome; tiny bites of solid food reduce breastfeeding duration; and living near green environments increases the oligosaccharide diversity of a mother’s milk.
    — Lisa Wells, Harper’s Magazine , 13 Mar. 2023

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'oligosaccharide.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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