4. Discussion
defecation and reduced the relative abundance of, bowel movements, peristalsis, constipation
In the present randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial investigating 23 children who initially had defecation on ≤4 days/week, we observed that kestose intake improved defecation habits by increasing the number of bowel movements per week, number of days with bowel movements, and total number of bowel movements. Median weekly stool volume was also increased in the maltose (placebo) group, but total stool volume was not increased, suggesting that defecation was unimproved. Intervention studies on the effect of prebiotics on constipation in children are scarce, with very few data showing efficacy [In the kestose group, there was no change in the alpha diversity index of the intestinal microflora and a trend toward increased Since SCFAs have been shown to promote colon peristalsis and defecation [The limitations of this study include the small number of subjects studied, partly because subjects in this study were selected through a preliminary survey. A larger study is needed to include analyses of bacterial flora and intestinal metabolites. Using an effect size of 0.53 for this study, with a power of 0.8, α = 0.05, and a corresponding In conclusion, kestose intake appeared to improve defecation and reduced the relative abundance of 