Patent ID: 8367365

Claim:
A method for determining whether a carbohydrate is a non-digestible oligosaccharide, comprising: (a) reacting the carbohydrate with thermostable α-amylase; then (b) reacting the reaction product of step (a) with protease and amyloglucosidase; then (c) reacting the reaction product of step (b) with a suspension of an animal-derived low-molecular-weight carbohydrate digestive enzyme, said suspension having been prepared by surgical removal of a portion of the intestine of an animal, followed by homogenization, ultrasonic disintegration and centrifugation thereof, and then (d) determining whether the carbohydrate is a non-digestible oligosaccharide by comparing high-performance liquid chromatography of the carbohydrate prior to step (a) with high-performance liquid chromatography of the reaction product of step (c).