Methods of modulating gastrointestinal microbial metabolic pathways and metabolites

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to methods of feeding animals by providing feed additives that modulate the gut microbiome to improve the health, nutrition, and growth performance. The present disclosure further relates to methods of modulating metabolites present in the gastrointestinal tract of an animal. Such modulation includes, for example, modulating the level said metabolites.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] This application claims the benefit of US Provisional Application Serial No. 62 / 989,107, filed on March 13, 2020, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. BACKGROUND

[0002] The gut microbiome, e.g., bacteria, viruses, fungi, mold, protozoa, etc. that reside in the digestive track, is responsible for converting undigested and unabsorbed components of an animal’s diet into thousands of biologically active metabolites. These metabolites interface in turn with the local and systemic physiology of the animal as well as the animal’s external environment.

[0003] Under normal circumstances, the biochemical output of the microbiome is dictated in part by the composition of food consumed by the animal and in part by the phylogenetic composition of the gut microbiome. In a conventional diet, particularly one comprising plant-fiber polysaccharides and species such as cellulose, lignin, hemicellulose, pectins, and starch-bound protein, a portion of the food consumed by the animal remains undigested and unabsorbed by the primary digestive process. These unabsorbed species reach the lower intestinal system, where they can be processed and utilized by the microbiota and converted to metabolites. The resulting gut metabolome generated by the metabolic action of the gut microbiome on these unabsorbed components of the feed is affected by the chemical compositions of those various unabsorbed components.

[0004] Metabolites produced in the gut can be absorbed, for example through the colonic or portal circulatory systems, and transported to other organs of the animal where they can affect the structure and / or function of those organs. These biochemicals in turn affect diverse biological functions, such as nutrient absorption, energy regulation, mitochondrial function, systemic inflammation, stress response, liver function, kidney function, cardiometabolic function, satiety, mood, and alertness. Metabolites produced in the gut can also be excreted by the animal to its external environment.

[0005] In some cases, the metabolites produced by the gut microbiome are beneficial to the host or otherwise contribute to the productivity, health, welfare and sustainability of the host animal. In other cases, the metabolites produced by the gut microbiome are detrimental to the host and result in decreased productivity, health, or welfare. Certain metabolites are undesirable because they are detrimental to the external environment of the animal when excreted, and can result in water, soil, and / or atmospheric pollution, or otherwise increase the environmental footprint of raising the animals. 2021236325  14 Sep 2022 [0006J Overall animal productivity and health are critical factors in the economics of the animal protein production industry. Consumer and regulatory pressure for improved sustainability are increasingly essential to maintaining competitiveness in the production industry. [0007J There is thus a need to be able to modulate or otherwise control the metabolic pathways and metabolic output of the gut microbiome in animals for the purpose of improving nutrition, health, welfare and / or sustainability of production animals and companion animals. The challenge, however, is that animals typically exhibit high taxonomic variability in the phylogenetic composition of their gut microbiomes. This is even true in the animal production industry, where thousands of essentially identical animals are often raised in cohorts with the same underlying genetics, a common systematic diet, and a common environment, where significant phylogenetic differences are observed in the microbiomes of seemingly identical healthy animals. Consequently, conventional feed additives that target the gut microbiota are generally understood in the industry to provide inconsistent effects on the gut metabolomes of the animals to which they are fed. [0007a]       The discussion of documents, acts, materials, devices, articles and the like is included in this specification solely for the purpose of providing a context for the present invention. It is not suggested or represented that any or all of these matters formed part of the prior art base or were common general knowledge in the field relevant to the present invention as it existed before the priority date of each claim of this application. SUMMARY [0008J In one aspect, provided herein are methods of improving the nutrition, health, welfare, and sustainability of animals by providing to the animals feed additives that increase or decrease the expression of one or more metabolic pathways in the metagenome of the animal’s microbiome. In certain embodiments, the methods of improving the nutrition of the animal comprise increasing the abundance of, expression of, or flux through metabolic pathways in the metagenome of the gastrointestinal microflora that are responsible for harvesting nutritional energy from undigested components of the animal’s diet. In other embodiments, the methods of improving the health of the animal comprise decreasing the expression of metabolic pathways in the metagenome of the gastrointestinal microflora that are responsible for the adverse breakdown of aromatic amino acids into biogenic amines. In other embodiments, the methods of improving the health of the animal comprise increasing the expression of, abundance of, or flux through metabolic pathways in the metagenome of 2021236325  14 Sep 2022 the gastrointestinal microflora that are responsible for maintaining immunoinflammatory homeostasis.

[0009] In one aspect, provided herein are methods of improving nitrogen utilization in an animal, the methods comprising: administering a nutritional composition comprising a base nutritional composition and a synthetic oligosaccharide preparation to said animal, wherein said synthetic oligosaccharide preparation comprises at least n fractions of oligosaccharides each having a distinct degree of polymerization selected from 1 to n (DP1 to DPn fractions), wherein n is an integer greater than 3; and wherein each of a DP1 and DP2 fraction independently comprises from about 0.5% to about 15% of anhydro-subunit containing oligosaccharides by relative abundance as determined by mass spectrometry; and wherein the level of a plurality of metabolites associated with enhanced nitrogen utilization is higher in a gastrointestinal sample from said animal compared to a gastrointestinal sample from a comparable control animal that has been administered a comparable nutritional composition comprising said base nutritional composition and lacking said synthetic oligosaccharide preparation.

[0010] In some embodiments, said plurality comprises at least 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, or 10 metabolites.

[0011] In some embodiments, said plurality of metabolites comprises at least 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, or 10 metabolites selected from the group consisting of (2S, 3S)-3-methylaspartate, (R)-3-(phenyl)lactate, (R)-3-(phenyl)lactoyl-CoA, (S)-3-aminobutanoyl-CoA, 2-oxoglutarate, 3-(4-hydroxyphenyl)pyruvate, 4-aminobutanal, 4-aminobutanoate, 4-guanidinobutanoate, 4-guanidinobutyraldehyde, 4-guanidobutryamide, 4-maleyl-acetoacetate, 5-aminopentanal, 5-aminopentanoate, 5-guanidino-2-oxopentanoate, Agmatine, Ammonia, Cadaverine, Cinnamate, cinnamoyl-CoA, coenzyme A, formamide, homogentisate, L-beta-lysine, L-cystathionine, L-glutamate, L-glutamate-5-semialdehyde, L-histidine, L-homocysteine, L-lysine, L-methionine, L-ornithine, L-proline, L-serine, Mesaconate, N-carbamoylputrescine, N-formimino-L-glutamate, N2-succinyl-L-arginine, Pyruvate, succincatesemialdehyde, succinyl-CoA, or urea.

[0012] In some embodiments, the level of said plurality of metabolites in said gastrointestinal sample is at least 1%, 2%, 3%, 4%, 5%, 10%, 15%, 20%, or 25% higher than the level of said plurality of metabolites in said gastrointestinal sample from a comparable control animal that has been administered a comparable nutritional composition comprising said base nutritional composition lacking said synthetic oligosaccharide preparation.

[0013] In some embodiments, the level of said plurality of metabolites in said gastrointestinal sample is at least about 0.1 fold, 0.2 fold, 0.3 fold, 0.4 fold, 0.5 fold, 0.6 fold, 0.7 fold, 0.8 fold, 0.9 fold, 1 fold, 2 fold, 3 fold, 4 fold, 5 fold, 6 fold, 7 fold, 8 fold, 9 fold, or 10 fold higher than the level of said plurality of metabolites in said gastrointestinal sample from a comparable control animal that has been administered a comparable nutritional composition comprising said base nutritional composition lacking said synthetic oligosaccharide preparation.

[0014] In some embodiments, the level of a plurality of metabolites associated with diminished nitrogen utilization is lower in a gastrointestinal sample from said animal compared to a gastrointestinal sample from a comparable control animal that has been administered a comparable nutritional composition comprising said base nutritional composition lacking said synthetic oligosaccharide preparation.

[0015] In some embodiments, said plurality comprises at least 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, or 10 metabolites.

[0016] In some embodiments, said plurality comprises at least 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, or 10 metabolites selected from the group consisting of (3S,5S)-3,5-diaminohexanoate, (S)-3-methyl-2-oxopentanoate, (S)-5-amino-3-oxohexanoate, 2-oxoglutarate, acetyl-CoA, ammonia, D-alanine, Formate, Fumarate, Glycine, L-2-amino-3-oxobutanoate, L-alanine, L-asparagine, L-aspartate, L-glutamate, L-isoleucine, N-formimino-L-glutamate, N-formyl-L-glutamate, N2-succinylglutamate, and Pyruvate.

[0017] In some embodiments, the level of said plurality of metabolites in said gastrointestinal sample is at least 1%, 2%, 3%, 4%, 5%, 10%, 15%, 20%, or 25% lower than the level of said plurality of metabolites in said gastrointestinal sample from a comparable control animal that has been administered a comparable nutritional composition comprising said base nutritional composition lacking said synthetic oligosaccharide preparation.

[0018] In some embodiments, the level of said plurality of metabolites in said gastrointestinal sample is at least about 0.1 fold, 0.2 fold, 0.3 fold, 0.4 fold, 0.5 fold, 0.6 fold, 0.7 fold, 0.8 fold, 0.9 fold, 1 fold, 2 fold, 3 fold, 4 fold, 5 fold, 6 fold, 7 fold, 8 fold, 9 fold, or 10 fold lower than the level of said plurality of metabolites in said gastrointestinal sample from a comparable control animal that has been administered a comparable nutritional composition comprising said base nutritional composition lacking said synthetic oligosaccharide preparation.

[0019] In some embodiments, said gastrointestinal sample is a biopsy of a gastrointestinal tissue, a fecal sample, rumen fluid sample, or a cloacal swab.

[0020] In some embodiments, said gastrointestinal tissue is cecal tissue or ileum tissue.

[0021] In some embodiments, said nutritional composition comprising said synthetic oligosaccharide preparation is administered to said animal for at least 1, 7, 10, 14, 30, 45, 60, 90, or 120 days.

[0022] In some embodiments, said nutritional composition comprising said synthetic oligosaccharide preparation is administered to said animal at least once, twice, three, four, or five times a day.

[0023] In some embodiments, said administering comprises providing the nutritional composition to said animal to ingest at will.

[0024] In some embodiments, said animal ingests at least a portion of said nutritional composition in over at least 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 90, or 120 twenty-four-hour periods.

[0025] In some embodiments, said nutritional composition comprises at least lOOppm, 200ppm, 300ppm, 400ppm, 500ppm, 600ppm, 700ppm, 800ppm, 900ppm, lOOOppm, 1500ppm, or 2000ppm said synthetic oligosaccharide preparation.

[0026] In some embodiments, said nutritional composition comprises about lOOppm, 200ppm, 300ppm, 400ppm, 500ppm, 600ppm, 700ppm, 800ppm, 900ppm, lOOOppm, 1500ppm, or 2000ppm said synthetic oligosaccharide preparation.

[0027] In some embodiments, said nutritional composition comprises about 500ppm said synthetic oligosaccharide preparation.

[0028] In some embodiments, said nutritional composition comprises from about lOOppm - 2000ppm, lOOppm - 1500ppm, lOOppm - lOOOppm, lOOppm - 900ppm, lOOppm - 800ppm, lOOppm - 700ppm, lOOppm - 600ppm, lOOppm - 500ppm, lOOppm - 400ppm, lOOppm - 300ppm, lOOppm - 200ppm, 200ppm - lOOOppm, 200ppm - 800ppm, 200ppm - 700ppm, 200ppm - 600ppm, 200ppm - 500ppm, 300ppm - lOOOppm, 300ppm - 700ppm, 300ppm - 600ppm, or 300ppm - 500ppm said synthetic oligosaccharide preparation.

[0029] In some embodiments, said nutritional composition comprises from about 300ppm - 600ppm said synthetic oligosaccharide preparation.

[0030] In some embodiments, said animal has an increased body weight relative to a body weight of said animal prior to administration of said nutritional composition comprising said synthetic oligosaccharide preparation.

[0031] In some embodiments, said body weight of said animal is at least 1%, 2%, 3%, 4%, 5%, 5%, 7%, 8%, 9%, or 10% increased relative to said body weight of said animal prior to administration of said nutritional composition comprising said synthetic oligosaccharide preparation.

[0032] In some embodiments, said increase in body weight is a larger increase relative to a comparable control animal administered a comparable nutritional composition comprising said base nutritional composition lacking said synthetic oligosaccharide preparation.

[0033] In some embodiments, said body weight of said animal is at least 1%, 2%, 3%, 4%, 5%, 5%, 7%, 8%, 9%, or 10% increased relative to said body weight of said comparable control animal administered a comparable nutritional composition comprising said base nutritional composition lacking said synthetic oligosaccharide preparation.

[0034] In some embodiments, said animal has an increased feed efficiency relative to a feed efficiency of said animal prior to administration of said nutritional composition comprising said synthetic oligosaccharide preparation.

[0035] In some embodiments, said feed efficiency of said animal is at least 1%, 2%, 3%, 4%, 5%, 5%, 7%, 8%, 9%, or 10% increased relative to said feed efficiency of said animal prior to administration of said nutritional composition comprising said synthetic oligosaccharide preparation.

[0036] In some embodiments, said animal has said increase in feed efficiency is a larger increase relative to a comparable control animal administered a comparable nutritional composition comprising said base nutritional composition lacking said synthetic oligosaccharide preparation.

[0037] In some embodiments, said increase in feed efficiency of said animal is at least 1%, 2%, 3%, 4%, 5%, 5%, 7%, 8%, 9%, or 10% increased relative to said body weight of said comparable control animal administered a comparable nutritional composition comprising said base nutritional composition lacking said synthetic oligosaccharide preparation.

[0038] In some embodiments, said animal has a decreased feed conversion ratio (FCR) relative to an FCR of said animal prior to administration of said nutritional composition comprising said synthetic oligosaccharide preparation.

[0039] In some embodiments, said feed conversion ratio of said animal is at least 1%, 2%, 3%, 4%, 5%, 5%, 7%, 8%, 9%, or 10% decreased relative to the feed conversion ratio of said animal prior to administration of said nutritional composition comprising said synthetic oligosaccharide preparation.

[0040] In some embodiments, said animal has said decrease in feed conversion ratio is a larger decrease relative to a comparable control animal administered a comparable nutritional composition comprising said base nutritional composition lacking said synthetic oligosaccharide preparation.

[0041] In some embodiments, said feed conversion ratio of said animal is at least 1%, 2%, 3%, 4%, 5%, 5%, 7%, 8%, 9%, or 10% decreased relative to the feed conversion ratio of said comparable control animal administered a comparable nutritional composition comprising said base nutritional composition lacking said synthetic oligosaccharide preparation.

[0042] In some embodiments, a life expectancy or survival rate of said animal is increased relative to a comparable control animal that was administered a comparable nutritional composition comprising said base nutritional composition lacking said synthetic oligosaccharide preparation.

[0043] In some embodiments, administering results in at least one of a) improved nutrient absorption, b) improved mitochondrial function, c) improved liver function, d) improved kidney function, e) improved sociability, f) improved mood, g) improved energy, h) improved satiety; and i) improved alertness; each relative to an animal administered a nutrition composition lacking said synthetic oligosaccharide preparation.

[0044] In some embodiments, administering results in at least one of a) improved nutrient absorption, b) improved mitochondrial function, c) improved liver function, d) improved kidney function, e) improved sociability, f) improved mood, g) improved energy, h) improved satiety; and i) improved alertness; each relative to said animal prior to administration of said synthetic oligosaccharide preparation.

[0045] In some embodiments, administering results in improved quality of meat derived from said animal relative to an animal administered a nutrition composition lacking said synthetic oligosaccharide preparation.

[0046] In some embodiments, administering results in at least one of a) enhanced color of the animal meat, b) enhanced flavor of the animal meat, and c) enhanced tenderness of the animal meat.

[0047] In some embodiments, said animal is a poultry, seafood, sheep, cow, cattle, buffalo, bison, pig, cat, dog, rabbit, goat, guinea pig, donkey, camel, horse, pigeon, ferret, gerbil, hamster, mouse, rat, fish, or bird.

[0048] In some embodiments, said animal is a poultry. In some embodiments, said poultry is a chicken, turkey, duck, or goose. In some embodiments, said poultry is a chicken. In some embodiments, said chicken is a broiler chicken, a layer chicken, or a breeder chicken.

[0049] In some embodiments, the animal is a pig. In some embodiments, said pig is a nursery pig, a grower pig, or a finisher pig.

[0050] In some embodiments, said animal is a fish. In some embodiments, said fish is a salmon, a tilapia, or a tropical fish.

[0051] In some embodiments, said animal is a livestock animal.

[0052] In some embodiments, said animal is a companion animal. In some embodiments, said companion animal is a cat, dog, hamster, rabbit, guinea pig, ferret, gerbil, bird, or mouse.

[0053] In some embodiments, said relative abundance of oligosaccharides in at least 5, 10, 20, or 30 DP fractions decreases monotonically with its degree of polymerization.

[0054] In some embodiments, said relative abundance of oligosaccharides in each of the n fractions decreases monotonically with its degree of polymerization. In some embodiments, n is at least 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87, 88, 89, 90, 91, 92, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98, 99, or 100.

[0055] In some embodiments, said DP2 fraction comprises less than 12%, less than 11%, less than 10%, less than 9%, less than 8%, less than 7%, less than 6%, less than 5%, less than 4%, less than 3%, less than 2%, or less than 1% anhydro-subunit containing oligosaccharides by relative abundance.

[0056] In some embodiments, said DP2 fraction comprises from about 5% to about 10% of anhydrosubunit containing oligosaccharides by relative abundance.

[0057] In some embodiments, said DP2 fraction comprises from about 1% to about 10% of anhydrosubunit containing oligosaccharides by relative abundance.

[0058] In some embodiments, said DP2 fraction comprises from about 0.5% to about 10% of anhydrosubunit containing oligosaccharides by relative abundance.

[0059] In some embodiments, said DP2 fraction comprises from about 2% to about 12% of anhydrosubunit containing oligosaccharides by relative abundance.

[0060] In some embodiments, said DPI fraction comprises less than 12%, less than 11%, less than 10%, less than 9%, less than 8%, less than 7%, less than 6%, less than 5%, less than 4%, less than 3%, less than 2%, or less than 1% anhydro-subunit containing oligosaccharides by relative abundance.

[0061] In some embodiments, said DPI fraction comprises from about 2% to about 12% of anhydrosubunit containing oligosaccharides by relative abundance.

[0062] In some embodiments, said DPI fraction comprises from about 1% to about 10% of anhydrosubunit containing oligosaccharides by relative abundance.

[0063] In some embodiments, said DPI fraction comprises from about 0.5% to about 10% of anhydrosubunit containing oligosaccharides by relative abundance.

[0064] In some embodiments, said DPI fraction comprises from about 5% to about 10% of anhydrosubunit containing oligosaccharides by relative abundance.

[0065] In some embodiments, said DP3 fraction comprises less than 15%, less than 12%, less than 11%, less than 10%, less than 9%, less than 8%, less than 7%, less than 6%, less than 5%, less than 4%, less than 3%, less than 2%, or less than 1% anhydro-subunit containing oligosaccharides by relative abundance.

[0066] In some embodiments, said DP3 fraction comprises from about 2% to about 12% of anhydrosubunit containing oligosaccharides by relative abundance.

[0067] In some embodiments, said DP3 fraction comprises from about 1% to about 10% of anhydrosubunit containing oligosaccharides by relative abundance.

[0068] In some embodiments, said DP3 fraction comprises from about 0.5% to about 10% of anhydrosubunit containing oligosaccharides by relative abundance.

[0069] In some embodiments, said DP3 fraction comprises from about 5% to about 10% of anhydrosubunit containing oligosaccharides by relative abundance.

[0070] In some embodiments, said oligosaccharide preparation comprises from about 2% to about 12% anhydro-subunit containing oligosaccharides by relative abundance.

[0071] In some embodiments, said oligosaccharide preparation comprises from about 0.5% to about 10% anhydro-subunit containing oligosaccharides by relative abundance.

[0072] In some embodiments, said oligosaccharide preparation comprises from about 1% to about 10% anhydro-subunit containing oligosaccharides by relative abundance.

[0073] In some embodiments, said oligosaccharide preparation comprises from about 5% to about 10% anhydro-subunit containing oligosaccharides by relative abundance.

[0074] In some embodiments, said DP2 fraction comprises greater than 0.6%, greater than 0.8%, greater than 1.0%, greater than 1.5%, greater than 2%, greater than 3%, greater than 4%, greater than 5%, greater than 6%, greater than 7%, greater than 8%, greater than 9%, greater than 10%, greater than 11%, or greater than 12% anhydro-subunit containing oligosaccharides by relative abundance.

[0075] In some embodiments, said DPI fraction comprises greater than 0.6%, greater than 0.8%, greater than 1.0%, greater than 1.5%, greater than 2%, greater than 3%, greater than 4%, greater than 5%, greater than 6%, greater than 7%, greater than 8%, greater than 9%, greater than 10%, greater than 11%, or greater than 12% anhydro-subunit containing oligosaccharides by relative abundance.

[0076] In some embodiments, said DP3 fraction comprises greater than 0.6%, greater than 0.8%, greater than 1.0%, greater than 1.5%, greater than 2%, greater than 3%, greater than 4%, greater than 5%, greater than 6%, greater than 7%, greater than 8%, greater than 9%, greater than 10%, greater than 11%, or greater than 12% anhydro-subunit containing oligosaccharides by relative abundance.

[0077] In some embodiments, said oligosaccharide preparation comprises greater than 0.5%, 0.6%, greater than 0.8%, greater than 1.0%, greater than 1.5%, greater than 2%, greater than 3%, greater than 4%, greater than 5%, greater than 6%, greater than 7%, greater than 8%, greater than 9%, greater than 10%, greater than 11%, or greater than 12% anhydro-subunit containing oligosaccharides by relative abundance.

[0078] In some embodiments, said oligosaccharide preparation has a DPI fraction content of from about 1% to about 40 % by weight as determined by liquid chromatography.

[0079] In some embodiments, said oligosaccharide preparation has a DP2 fraction content of from about 1% to about 35 % by weight as determined by liquid chromatography.

[0080] In some embodiments, said oligosaccharide preparation has a DP3 fraction content of from about 1% to about 30 % by weight as determined by liquid chromatography.

[0081] In some embodiments, said oligosaccharide preparation has a DP4 fraction content of from about 0.1% to about 20 % by weight as determined by liquid chromatography

[0082] In some embodiments, said oligosaccharide preparation has a DP5 fraction content of from about 0.1% to about 15 % by weight as determined by liquid chromatography.

[0083] In some embodiments, a ratio of the DP2 fraction to the DPI fraction is from about 0.02 to about 0.40 as determined by liquid chromatography.

[0084] In some embodiments, a ratio of the DP3 fraction to the DP2 fraction is from about 0.01 to about 0.30 as determined by liquid chromatography.

[0085] In some embodiments, an aggregate content of the DPI and the DP2 fractions in the oligosaccharide preparation is less than 50%, less than 40%, or less than 30% as determined by liquid chromatography.

[0086] In some embodiments, said oligosaccharide preparation comprises at least 103, at least 104, at least 105, at least 106 or at least 109 different oligosaccharide species.

[0087] In some embodiments, two or more independent oligosaccharides comprise different anhydrosubunits.

[0088] In some embodiments, each of said anhydro-subunit containing oligosaccharides comprises one or more anhydro-subunits that are products of thermal dehydration of monosaccharides.

[0089] In some embodiments, said oligosaccharide preparation comprises one or more anhydrosubunits selected from anhydro-glucose, anhydro-galactose, anhydro-mannose, anhydro-allose, anhydro-altrose, anhydro-gulose, anhydro-indose, anhydro-talose, anhydro-fructose, anhydro-ribose, anhydro-arabinose, anhydro-rhamnose, anhydro-lyxose, and anhydro-xylose.

[0090] In some embodiments, said oligosaccharide preparation comprises one or more anhydroglucose, anhydro-galactose, anhydro-mannose, or anhydro-fructose subunits.

[0091] In some embodiments, said DPI fraction comprises 1,6-anhydro-P-D-glucofuranose or 1,6-anhydro-P-D-glucopyranose anhydro-subunits.

[0092] In some embodiments, said DPI fraction comprises both 1,6-anhydro-P-D-glucofuranose and 1,6-anhydro-P-D-glucopyranose anhydro-subunits.

[0093] In some embodiments, a ratio of the 1,6-anhydro-P-D-glucofuranose to the 1,6-anhydro-P-D-glucopyranose is from about 10:1 to 1:10, from about 9:1 to about 1:10, from about 8:1 to about 1:10, from about 7:1 to about 1:10, from about 6:1 to about 1:10, from about 5:1 to about 1:10, from about 4:1 to about 1:10, from about 3:1 to about 1:10, from about 2:1 to about 1:10, from about 10:1 to about 1:9, from about 10:1 to about 1:8, from about 10:1 to about 1:7, from about 10:1 to about 1:6, from about 10:1 to about 1:5, from about 10:1 to about 1:4, from about 10:1 to about 1:3, from about 10:1 to about 1:2, or from about 1:1 to about 3:1 in the oligosaccharide reparation.

[0094] In some embodiments, a ratio of the 1,6-anhydro-P-D-glucofuranose to the 1,6-anhydro-P-D-glucopyranose is about 10:1, about 9:1, about 8:1, about 7:1, about 6:1, about 5:1, about 4:1, about 3:1, about 2:1, about 1:1, about 1:2, about 1:3, about 1:4, about 1:5, about 1:6, about 1:7, about 1:8, about 1:9, or about 1:10 in the oligosaccharide preparation.

[0095] In some embodiments, a ratio of the 1,6-anhydro-P-D-glucofuranose to the 1,6-anhydro-P-D-glucopyranose is about 2:1 in the oligosaccharide preparation.

[0096] In some embodiments, said DP2 fraction comprises at least 5 species of anhydro-subunit containing oligosaccharides.

[0097] In some embodiments, said DP2 fraction comprises about 5 to 10 species of anhydro-subunit containing oligosaccharides.

[0098] In some embodiments, said oligosaccharide preparation comprises one or more sugar caramelization products. In some embodiments, said sugar caramelization products are selected from a group consisting of: methanol; ethanol; furan; methyl glyoxal; 2-methyl furan; vinyl acetate; glycolaldehyde; acetic acid; acetol; furfural; 2-furanmethanol; 3-furanmethanol; 2-hydroxy cyclopent-2-en-l-one; 5-methyl furfural; 2(5H)-furanone; 2 methyl cyclopentenol one; levoglucosenone; cyclic hydroxyl lactone; 1,4,3,6-dianhydro-a-D-glucopyranose; dianhydro glucopyranose; and 5-hydroxy methyl furfural (5-hmf).

[0099] In some embodiments, greater than 50%, 60%, 70%, 80%, 90%, 95%, or 99% of the anhydrosubunit containing oligosaccharides comprise a chain-end anhydro-subunit.

[00100] In some embodiments, said oligosaccharide preparation has a weight average molecular weight of from about 300 to about 5000 g / mol as determined by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC).

[00101] In some embodiments, said oligosaccharide preparation has a weight average molecular weight of from about 300 to about 2500 g / mol as determined by HPLC.

[00102] In some embodiments, said oligosaccharide preparation has a weight average molecular weight of from about 500 to about 2000 g / mol as determined by HPLC.

[00103] In some embodiments, said oligosaccharide preparation has a weight average molecular weight of from about 500 to about 1500 g / mol as determined by HPLC.

[00104] In some embodiments, said oligosaccharide preparation has a number average molecular weight of from about 300 to about 5000 g / mol as determined by HPLC.

[00105] In some embodiments, said oligosaccharide preparation has a number average molecular weight of from about 300 to about 2500 g / mol as determined by HPLC.

[00106] In some embodiments, said oligosaccharide preparation has a number average molecular weight of from about 500 to about 2000 g / mol as determined by HPLC.

[00107] In some embodiments, said oligosaccharide preparation has a number average molecular weight of from about 500 to about 1500 g / mol as determined by HPLC.

[00108] In some embodiments, said oligosaccharide preparation has a weight average molecular weight of from about 2000 to about 2800 g / mol.

[00109] In some embodiments, said oligosaccharide preparation has a number average molecular weight of from about 1000 to about 2000 g / mol.

[00110] In some embodiments, said nutritional composition comprising said synthetic oligosaccharide preparation is administered to said animal for at least 1, 7, 10, 14, 30, 45, 60, 90, or 120 days.

[00111] In some embodiments, said nutritional composition comprising said synthetic oligosaccharide preparation is administered to said animal at least once, twice, three, four, or five times a day.

[00112] In some embodiments, said administering comprises providing the nutritional composition to said animal to ingest at will.

[00113] In some embodiments, said animal ingests at least a portion of said nutritional composition in over at least 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 90, or 120 twenty-four-hour periods.

[00114] In some embodiments, said nutritional composition comprises at least lOOppm, 200ppm, 300ppm, 400ppm, 500ppm, 600ppm, 700ppm, 800ppm, 900ppm, lOOOppm, 1500ppm, or 2000ppm said synthetic oligosaccharide preparation.

[00115] In some embodiments, said nutritional composition comprises about lOOppm, 200ppm, 300ppm, 400ppm, 500ppm, 600ppm, 700ppm, 800ppm, 900ppm, lOOOppm, 1500ppm, or 2000ppm said synthetic oligosaccharide preparation. In some embodiments, said nutritional composition comprises about 500ppm said synthetic oligosaccharide preparation.

[00116] In some embodiments, said nutritional composition comprises from about lOOppm -2000ppm, lOOppm - 1500ppm, lOOppm - lOOOppm, lOOppm - 900ppm, lOOppm - 800ppm, lOOppm -700ppm, lOOppm - 600ppm, lOOppm - 500ppm, lOOppm - 400ppm, lOOppm - 300ppm, lOOppm -200ppm, 200ppm - lOOOppm, 200ppm - 800ppm, 200ppm - 700ppm, 200ppm - 600ppm, 200ppm -500ppm, 300ppm - lOOOppm, 300ppm - 700ppm, 300ppm - 600ppm, or 300ppm - 500ppm said synthetic oligosaccharide preparation.

[00117] In some embodiments, said nutritional composition comprises from about 300ppm - 600ppm said synthetic oligosaccharide preparation.

[00118] In one aspect, provided herein are methods of improving nitrogen utilization in an animal, the method comprising: administering a nutritional composition comprising a base nutritional composition and a synthetic oligosaccharide preparation to said animal, wherein said synthetic oligosaccharide preparation comprises at least n fractions of oligosaccharides each having a distinct degree of polymerization selected from 1 to n (DPI to DPn fractions), wherein n is an integer greater than 3; and wherein each of a DPI and DP2 fraction independently comprises from about 0.5% to about 15% of anhydro-subunit containing oligosaccharides by relative abundance as determined by mass spectrometry; and wherein the level of a plurality of metabolites associated with diminished nitrogen utilization is lower in a gastrointestinal sample from said animal compared to a gastrointestinal sample from a comparable control animal that has been administered a comparable nutritional composition comprising said base nutritional composition and lacking said synthetic oligosaccharide preparation.

[00119] In some embodiments, said plurality comprises at least 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, or 10 metabolites.

[00120] In some embodiments, said plurality comprises at least 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, or 10 metabolites selected from the group consisting of (3S,5S)-3,5-diaminohexanoate, (S)-3-methyl-2-oxopentanoate, (S)-5-amino-3-oxohexanoate, 2-oxoglutarate, acetyl-CoA, ammonia, D-alanine, Formate, Fumarate, Glycine, L-2-amino-3-oxobutanoate, L-alanine, L-asparagine, L-aspartate, L-glutamate, L-isoleucine, N-formimino-L-glutamate, N-formyl-L-glutamate, N2-succinylglutamate, and Pyruvate.

[00121] In some embodiments, the level of said plurality of metabolites in said gastrointestinal sample is at least 1%, 2%, 3%, 4%, 5%, 10%, 15%, 20%, or 25% lower than the level of said plurality of metabolites in said gastrointestinal sample from a comparable control animal that has been administered a comparable nutritional composition comprising said base nutritional composition lacking said synthetic oligosaccharide preparation.

[00122] In some embodiments, the level of said plurality of metabolites in said gastrointestinal sample is at least about 0.1 fold, 0.2 fold, 0.3 fold, 0.4 fold, 0.5 fold, 0.6 fold, 0.7 fold, 0.8 fold, 0.9 fold, 1 fold, 2 fold, 3 fold, 4 fold, 5 fold, 6 fold, 7 fold, 8 fold, 9 fold, or 10 fold lower than the level of said plurality of metabolites in said gastrointestinal sample from a comparable control animal that has been administered a comparable nutritional composition comprising said base nutritional composition lacking said synthetic oligosaccharide preparation.

[00123] In some embodiments, said gastrointestinal sample is a biopsy of a gastrointestinal tissue, a fecal sample, rumen fluid sample, or a cloacal swab.

[00124] In some embodiments, said gastrointestinal tissue is cecal tissue or ileum tissue.

[00125] In some embodiments, said animal does not develop footpad dermatitis or develops less severe footpad dermatitis (e.g., as measured according to Table 17) as compared to said comparable control animal that has been administered a comparable nutritional composition comprising said base nutritional composition lacking said synthetic oligosaccharide preparation.

[00126] In some embodiments, the severity of footpad dermatitis is measured according to the system in Table 17.

[00127] In some embodiments, said animal administered said synthetic oligosaccharide preparation does not develop score 2, 3, or 4 footpad dermatitis, as referred to in Table 17.

[00128] In some embodiments, said animal administered said synthetic oligosaccharide preparation does not develop score 3 or 4 footpad dermatitis, as referred to in Table 17.

[00129] In some embodiments, said animal excretes urine and feces onto a liter, wherein said liter is in contact with the feet of said animal.

[00130] In some embodiments, the pH of a sample of said liter is less than the pH of a sample of liter from said comparable control animal that has been administered a comparable nutritional composition comprising said base nutritional composition lacking said synthetic oligosaccharide preparation.

[00131] In some embodiments, the pH of said liter is at least 0.1, 0.2, 0.3, 0.4, 0.5, 0.6, 0.7, 0.8, 0.9, or 1 pH unit less than said sample of liter from said comparable control animal that has been administered a comparable nutritional composition comprising said base nutritional composition lacking said synthetic oligosaccharide preparation.

[00132] In some embodiments, the quality of a sample of said liter is improved compared to a sample of liter from said comparable control animal that has been administered a comparable nutritional composition comprising said base nutritional composition lacking said synthetic oligosaccharide preparation, wherein quality of said liter is assessed according to Table 16.

[00133] In some embodiments, said nutritional composition comprising said synthetic oligosaccharide preparation is administered to said animal for at least 1, 7, 10, 14, 30, 45, 60, 90, or 120 days.

[00134] In some embodiments, said nutritional composition comprising said synthetic oligosaccharide preparation is administered to said animal at least once, twice, three, four, or five times a day.

[00135] In some embodiments, said administering comprises providing the nutritional composition to said animal to ingest at will.

[00136] In some embodiments, said animal ingests at least a portion of said nutritional composition in over at least 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 90, or 120 twenty-four-hour periods.

[00137] In some embodiments, said nutritional composition comprises at least lOOppm, 200ppm, 300ppm, 400ppm, 500ppm, 600ppm, 700ppm, 800ppm, 900ppm, lOOOppm, 1500ppm, or 2000ppm said synthetic oligosaccharide preparation.

[00138] In some embodiments, said nutritional composition comprises about lOOppm, 200ppm, 300ppm, 400ppm, 500ppm, 600ppm, 700ppm, 800ppm, 900ppm, lOOOppm, 1500ppm, or 2000ppm said synthetic oligosaccharide preparation.

[00139] In some embodiments, said nutritional composition comprises about 500ppm said synthetic oligosaccharide preparation.

[00140] In some embodiments, said nutritional composition comprises from about lOOppm -2000ppm, lOOppm - 1500ppm, lOOppm - lOOOppm, lOOppm - 900ppm, lOOppm - 800ppm, lOOppm -700ppm, lOOppm - 600ppm, lOOppm - 500ppm, lOOppm - 400ppm, lOOppm - 300ppm, lOOppm -200ppm, 200ppm - lOOOppm, 200ppm - 800ppm, 200ppm - 700ppm, 200ppm - 600ppm, 200ppm -500ppm, 300ppm - lOOOppm, 300ppm - 700ppm, 300ppm - 600ppm, or 300ppm - 500ppm said synthetic oligosaccharide preparation.

[00141] In some embodiments, said nutritional composition comprises from about 300ppm - 600ppm said synthetic oligosaccharide preparation.

[00142] In some embodiments, said animal has an increased body weight relative to a body weight of said animal prior to administration of said nutritional composition comprising said synthetic oligosaccharide preparation.

[00143] In some embodiments, said body weight of said animal is at least 1%, 2%, 3%, 4%, 5%, 5%, 7%, 8%, 9%, or 10% increased relative to said body weight of said animal prior to administration of said nutritional composition comprising said synthetic oligosaccharide preparation.

[00144] In some embodiments, said increase in body weight is a larger increase relative to a comparable control animal administered a comparable nutritional composition comprising said base nutritional composition lacking said synthetic oligosaccharide preparation.

[00145] In some embodiments, said body weight of said animal is at least 1%, 2%, 3%, 4%, 5%, 5%, 7%, 8%, 9%, or 10% increased relative to said body weight of said comparable control animal administered a comparable nutritional composition comprising said base nutritional composition lacking said synthetic oligosaccharide preparation.

[00146] In some embodiments, said animal has an increased feed efficiency relative to a feed efficiency of said animal prior to administration of said nutritional composition comprising said synthetic oligosaccharide preparation.

[00147] In some embodiments, said feed efficiency of said animal is at least 1%, 2%, 3%, 4%, 5%, 5%, 7%, 8%, 9%, or 10% increased relative to said feed efficiency of said animal prior to administration of said nutritional composition comprising said synthetic oligosaccharide preparation.

[00148] In some embodiments, said animal has said increase in feed efficiency is a larger increase relative to a comparable control animal administered a comparable nutritional composition comprising said base nutritional composition lacking said synthetic oligosaccharide preparation.

[00149] In some embodiments, said increase in feed efficiency of said animal is at least 1%, 2%, 3%, 4%, 5%, 5%, 7%, 8%, 9%, or 10% increased relative to said body weight of said comparable control animal administered a comparable nutritional composition comprising said base nutritional composition lacking said synthetic oligosaccharide preparation.

[00150] In some embodiments, said animal has a decreased feed conversion ratio (FCR) relative to an FCR of said animal prior to administration of said nutritional composition comprising said synthetic oligosaccharide preparation.

[00151] In some embodiments, said feed conversion ratio of said animal is at least 1%, 2%, 3%, 4%, 5%, 5%, 7%, 8%, 9%, or 10% decreased relative to the feed conversion ratio of said animal prior to administration of said nutritional composition comprising said synthetic oligosaccharide preparation.

[00152] In some embodiments, said animal has said decrease in feed conversion ratio is a larger decrease relative to a comparable control animal administered a comparable nutritional composition comprising said base nutritional composition lacking said synthetic oligosaccharide preparation.

[00153] In some embodiments, said feed conversion ratio of said animal is at least 1%, 2%, 3%, 4%, 5%, 5%, 7%, 8%, 9%, or 10% decreased relative to the feed conversion ratio of said comparable control animal administered a comparable nutritional composition comprising said base nutritional composition lacking said synthetic oligosaccharide preparation.

[00154] In some embodiments, a life expectancy or survival rate of said animal is increased relative to a comparable control animal that was administered a comparable nutritional composition comprising said base nutritional composition lacking said synthetic oligosaccharide preparation.

[00155] In some embodiments, administering results in at least one of a) improved nutrient absorption, b) improved mitochondrial function, c) improved liver function, d) improved kidney function, e) improved sociability, f) improved mood, g) improved energy, h) improved satiety; and i) improved alertness; each relative to an animal administered a nutrition composition lacking said synthetic oligosaccharide preparation.

[00156] In some embodiments, administering results in at least one of a) improved nutrient absorption, b) improved mitochondrial function, c) improved liver function, d) improved kidney function, e) improved sociability, f) improved mood, g) improved energy, h) improved satiety; and i) improved alertness; each relative to said animal prior to administration of said synthetic oligosaccharide preparation.

[00157] In some embodiments, administering results in improved quality of meat derived from said animal relative to an animal administered a nutrition composition lacking said synthetic oligosaccharide preparation.

[00158] In some embodiments, administering results in at least one of a) enhanced color of the animal meat, b) enhanced flavor of the animal meat, and c) enhanced tenderness of the animal meat.

[00159] In some embodiments, said animal is a poultry, seafood, sheep, cow, cattle, buffalo, bison, pig, cat, dog, rabbit, goat, guinea pig, donkey, camel, horse, pigeon, ferret, gerbil, hamster, mouse, rat, fish, or bird.

[00160] In some embodiments, said animal is a poultry. In some embodiments, said poultry is a chicken, turkey, duck, or goose. In some embodiments, said poultry is a chicken. In some embodiments, said chicken is a broiler chicken, a layer chicken, or a breeder chicken.

[00161] In some embodiments, the animal is a pig. In some embodiments, said pig is a nursery pig, a grower pig, or a finisher pig.

[00162] In some embodiments, said animal is a fish. In some embodiments, said fish is a salmon, a tilapia, or a tropical fish.

[00163] In some embodiments, said animal is a livestock animal.

[00164] In some embodiments, said animal is a companion animal. In some embodiments, said companion animal is a cat, dog, hamster, rabbit, guinea pig, ferret, gerbil, bird, or mouse.

[00165] In some embodiments, said relative abundance of oligosaccharides in at least 5, 10, 20, or 30 DP fractions decreases monotonically with its degree of polymerization.

[00166] In some embodiments, said relative abundance of oligosaccharides in each of the n fractions decreases monotonically with its degree of polymerization. In some embodiments, n is at least 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87, 88, 89, 90, 91, 92, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98, 99, or 100.

[00167] In some embodiments, said DP2 fraction comprises less than 12%, less than 11%, less than 10%, less than 9%, less than 8%, less than 7%, less than 6%, less than 5%, less than 4%, less than 3%, less than 2%, or less than 1% anhydro-subunit containing oligosaccharides by relative abundance.

[00168] In some embodiments, said DP2 fraction comprises from about 5% to about 10% of anhydrosubunit containing oligosaccharides by relative abundance.

[00169] In some embodiments, said DP2 fraction comprises from about 1% to about 10% of anhydrosubunit containing oligosaccharides by relative abundance.

[00170] In some embodiments, said DP2 fraction comprises from about 0.5% to about 10% of anhydro-subunit containing oligosaccharides by relative abundance.

[00171] In some embodiments, said DP2 fraction comprises from about 2% to about 12% of anhydrosubunit containing oligosaccharides by relative abundance.

[00172] In some embodiments, said DPI fraction comprises less than 12%, less than 11%, less than 10%, less than 9%, less than 8%, less than 7%, less than 6%, less than 5%, less than 4%, less than 3%, less than 2%, or less than 1% anhydro-subunit containing oligosaccharides by relative abundance.

[00173] In some embodiments, said DPI fraction comprises from about 2% to about 12% of anhydrosubunit containing oligosaccharides by relative abundance.

[00174] In some embodiments, said DPI fraction comprises from about 1% to about 10% of anhydrosubunit containing oligosaccharides by relative abundance.

[00175] In some embodiments, said DPI fraction comprises from about 0.5% to about 10% of anhydro-subunit containing oligosaccharides by relative abundance.

[00176] In some embodiments, said DPI fraction comprises from about 5% to about 10% of anhydrosubunit containing oligosaccharides by relative abundance.

[00177] In some embodiments, said DP3 fraction comprises less than 15%, less than 12%, less than 11%, less than 10%, less than 9%, less than 8%, less than 7%, less than 6%, less than 5%, less than 4%, less than 3%, less than 2%, or less than 1% anhydro-subunit containing oligosaccharides by relative abundance.

[00178] In some embodiments, said DP3 fraction comprises from about 2% to about 12% of anhydrosubunit containing oligosaccharides by relative abundance.

[00179] In some embodiments, said DP3 fraction comprises from about 1% to about 10% of anhydrosubunit containing oligosaccharides by relative abundance.

[00180] In some embodiments, said DP3 fraction comprises from about 0.5% to about 10% of anhydro-subunit containing oligosaccharides by relative abundance.

[00181] In some embodiments, said DP3 fraction comprises from about 5% to about 10% of anhydrosubunit containing oligosaccharides by relative abundance.

[00182] In some embodiments, said oligosaccharide preparation comprises from about 2% to about 12% anhydro-subunit containing oligosaccharides by relative abundance.

[00183] In some embodiments, said oligosaccharide preparation comprises from about 0.5% to about 10% anhydro-subunit containing oligosaccharides by relative abundance.

[00184] In some embodiments, said oligosaccharide preparation comprises from about 1% to about 10% anhydro-subunit containing oligosaccharides by relative abundance.

[00185] In some embodiments, said oligosaccharide preparation comprises from about 5% to about 10% anhydro-subunit containing oligosaccharides by relative abundance.

[00186] In some embodiments, said DP2 fraction comprises greater than 0.6%, greater than 0.8%, greater than 1.0%, greater than 1.5%, greater than 2%, greater than 3%, greater than 4%, greater than 5%, greater than 6%, greater than 7%, greater than 8%, greater than 9%, greater than 10%, greater than 11%, or greater than 12% anhydro-subunit containing oligosaccharides by relative abundance.

[00187] In some embodiments, said DPI fraction comprises greater than 0.6%, greater than 0.8%, greater than 1.0%, greater than 1.5%, greater than 2%, greater than 3%, greater than 4%, greater than 5%, greater than 6%, greater than 7%, greater than 8%, greater than 9%, greater than 10%, greater than 11%, or greater than 12% anhydro-subunit containing oligosaccharides by relative abundance.

[00188] In some embodiments, said DP3 fraction comprises greater than 0.6%, greater than 0.8%, greater than 1.0%, greater than 1.5%, greater than 2%, greater than 3%, greater than 4%, greater than 5%, greater than 6%, greater than 7%, greater than 8%, greater than 9%, greater than 10%, greater than 11%, or greater than 12% anhydro-subunit containing oligosaccharides by relative abundance.

[00189] In some embodiments, said oligosaccharide preparation comprises greater than 0.5%, 0.6%, greater than 0.8%, greater than 1.0%, greater than 1.5%, greater than 2%, greater than 3%, greater than 4%, greater than 5%, greater than 6%, greater than 7%, greater than 8%, greater than 9%, greater than 10%, greater than 11%, or greater than 12% anhydro-subunit containing oligosaccharides by relative abundance.

[00190] In some embodiments, said oligosaccharide preparation has a DPI fraction content of from about 1% to about 40 % by weight as determined by liquid chromatography.

[00191] In some embodiments, said oligosaccharide preparation has a DP2 fraction content of from about 1% to about 35 % by weight as determined by liquid chromatography.

[00192] In some embodiments, said oligosaccharide preparation has a DP3 fraction content of from about 1% to about 30 % by weight as determined by liquid chromatography.

[00193] In some embodiments, said oligosaccharide preparation has a DP4 fraction content of from about 0.1% to about 20 % by weight as determined by liquid chromatography

[00194] In some embodiments, said oligosaccharide preparation has a DP5 fraction content of from about 0.1% to about 15 % by weight as determined by liquid chromatography.

[00195] In some embodiments, a ratio of the DP2 fraction to the DPI fraction is from about 0.02 to about 0.40 as determined by liquid chromatography.

[00196] In some embodiments, a ratio of the DP3 fraction to the DP2 fraction is from about 0.01 to about 0.30 as determined by liquid chromatography.

[00197] In some embodiments, an aggregate content of the DPI and the DP2 fractions in the oligosaccharide preparation is less than 50%, less than 40%, or less than 30% as determined by liquid chromatography.

[00198] In some embodiments, said oligosaccharide preparation comprises at least 103, at least 104, at least 105, at least 106 or at least 109 different oligosaccharide species.

[00199] In some embodiments, two or more independent oligosaccharides comprise different anhydrosubunits.

[00200] In some embodiments, each of said anhydro-subunit containing oligosaccharides comprises one or more anhydro-subunits that are products of thermal dehydration of monosaccharides.

[00201] In some embodiments, said oligosaccharide preparation comprises one or more anhydrosubunits selected from anhydro-glucose, anhydro-galactose, anhydro-mannose, anhydro-allose, anhydro-altrose, anhydro-gulose, anhydro-indose, anhydro-talose, anhydro-fructose, anhydro-ribose, anhydro-arabinose, anhydro-rhamnose, anhydro-lyxose, and anhydro-xylose.

[00202] In some embodiments, said oligosaccharide preparation comprises one or more anhydroglucose, anhydro-galactose, anhydro-mannose, or anhydro-fructose subunits.

[00203] In some embodiments, said DPI fraction comprises 1,6-anhydro-P-D-glucofuranose or 1,6-anhydro-P-D-glucopyranose anhydro-subunits.

[00204] In some embodiments, said DPI fraction comprises both 1,6-anhydro-P-D-glucofuranose and 1,6-anhydro-P-D-glucopyranose anhydro-subunits.

[00205] In some embodiments, a ratio of the 1,6-anhydro-P-D-glucofuranose to the 1,6-anhydro-P-D-glucopyranose is from about 10:1 to 1:10, from about 9:1 to about 1:10, from about 8:1 to about 1:10, from about 7:1 to about 1:10, from about 6:1 to about 1:10, from about 5:1 to about 1:10, from about 4:1 to about 1:10, from about 3:1 to about 1:10, from about 2:1 to about 1:10, from about 10:1 to about 1:9, from about 10:1 to about 1:8, from about 10:1 to about 1:7, from about 10:1 to about 1:6, from about 10:1 to about 1:5, from about 10:1 to about 1:4, from about 10:1 to about 1:3, from about 10:1 to about 1:2, or from about 1:1 to about 3:1 in the oligosaccharide reparation.

[00206] In some embodiments, a ratio of the 1,6-anhydro-P-D-glucofuranose to the 1,6-anhydro-P-D-glucopyranose is about 10:1, about 9:1, about 8:1, about 7:1, about 6:1, about 5:1, about 4:1, about 3:1, about 2:1, about 1:1, about 1:2, about 1:3, about 1:4, about 1:5, about 1:6, about 1:7, about 1:8, about 1:9, or about 1:10 in the oligosaccharide preparation.

[00207] In some embodiments, a ratio of the 1,6-anhydro-P-D-glucofuranose to the 1,6-anhydro-P-D-glucopyranose is about 2:1 in the oligosaccharide preparation.

[00208] In some embodiments, said DP2 fraction comprises at least 5 species of anhydro-subunit containing oligosaccharides.

[00209] In some embodiments, said DP2 fraction comprises about 5 to 10 species of anhydro-subunit containing oligosaccharides.

[00210] In some embodiments, said oligosaccharide preparation comprises one or more sugar caramelization products. In some embodiments, said sugar caramelization products are selected from a group consisting of: methanol; ethanol; furan; methyl glyoxal; 2-methyl furan; vinyl acetate; glycolaldehyde; acetic acid; acetol; furfural; 2-furanmethanol; 3-furanmethanol; 2-hydroxy cyclopent-2-en-l-one; 5-methyl furfural; 2(5H)-furanone; 2 methyl cyclopentenol one; levoglucosenone; cyclic hydroxyl lactone; 1,4,3,6-dianhydro-a-D-glucopyranose; dianhydro glucopyranose; and 5-hydroxy methyl furfural (5-hmf).

[00211] In some embodiments, greater than 50%, 60%, 70%, 80%, 90%, 95%, or 99% of the anhydrosubunit containing oligosaccharides comprise a chain-end anhydro-subunit.

[00212] In some embodiments, said oligosaccharide preparation has a weight average molecular weight of from about 300 to about 5000 g / mol as determined by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC).

[00213] In some embodiments, said oligosaccharide preparation has a weight average molecular weight of from about 300 to about 2500 g / mol as determined by HPLC.

[00214] In some embodiments, said oligosaccharide preparation has a weight average molecular weight of from about 500 to about 2000 g / mol as determined by HPLC.

[00215] In some embodiments, said oligosaccharide preparation has a weight average molecular weight of from about 500 to about 1500 g / mol as determined by HPLC.

[00216] In some embodiments, said oligosaccharide preparation has a number average molecular weight of from about 300 to about 5000 g / mol as determined by HPLC.

[00217] In some embodiments, said oligosaccharide preparation has a number average molecular weight of from about 300 to about 2500 g / mol as determined by HPLC.

[00218] In some embodiments, said oligosaccharide preparation has a number average molecular weight of from about 500 to about 2000 g / mol as determined by HPLC.

[00219] In some embodiments, said oligosaccharide preparation has a number average molecular weight of from about 500 to about 1500 g / mol as determined by HPLC.

[00220] In some embodiments, said oligosaccharide preparation has a weight average molecular weight of from about 2000 to about 2800 g / mol.

[00221] In some embodiments, said oligosaccharide preparation has a number average molecular weight of from about 1000 to about 2000 g / mol.

[00222] In some embodiments, said nutritional composition comprising said synthetic oligosaccharide preparation is administered to said animal for at least 1, 7, 10, 14, 30, 45, 60, 90, or 120 days.

[00223] In some embodiments, said nutritional composition comprising said synthetic oligosaccharide preparation is administered to said animal at least once, twice, three, four, or five times a day.

[00224] In some embodiments, said administering comprises providing the nutritional composition to said animal to ingest at will.

[00225] In some embodiments, said animal ingests at least a portion of said nutritional composition in over at least 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 90, or 120 twenty-four-hour periods.

[00226] In some embodiments, said nutritional composition comprises at least lOOppm, 200ppm, 300ppm, 400ppm, 500ppm, 600ppm, 700ppm, 800ppm, 900ppm, lOOOppm, 1500ppm, or 2000ppm said synthetic oligosaccharide preparation.

[00227] In some embodiments, said nutritional composition comprises about lOOppm, 200ppm, 300ppm, 400ppm, 500ppm, 600ppm, 700ppm, 800ppm, 900ppm, lOOOppm, 1500ppm, or 2000ppm said synthetic oligosaccharide preparation. In some embodiments, said nutritional composition comprises about 500ppm said synthetic oligosaccharide preparation.

[00228] In some embodiments, said nutritional composition comprises from about lOOppm -2000ppm, lOOppm - 1500ppm, lOOppm - lOOOppm, lOOppm - 900ppm, lOOppm - 800ppm, lOOppm -700ppm, lOOppm - 600ppm, lOOppm - 500ppm, lOOppm - 400ppm, lOOppm - 300ppm, lOOppm -200ppm, 200ppm - lOOOppm, 200ppm - 800ppm, 200ppm - 700ppm, 200ppm - 600ppm, 200ppm -500ppm, 300ppm - lOOOppm, 300ppm - 700ppm, 300ppm - 600ppm, or 300ppm - 500ppm said synthetic oligosaccharide preparation.

[00229] In some embodiments, said nutritional composition comprises from about 300ppm - 600ppm said synthetic oligosaccharide preparation.

[00230] In one aspect, provided herein are methods of diminishing adverse amino acid degradation in an animal, the methods comprising: administering a nutritional composition comprising a base nutritional composition and a synthetic oligosaccharide preparation to said animal, wherein said synthetic oligosaccharide preparation comprises at least n fractions of oligosaccharides each having a distinct degree of polymerization selected from 1 to n (DPI to DPn fractions), wherein n is an integer greater than 3; and wherein each of a DPI and DP2 fraction independently comprises from about 0.5% to about 15% of anhydro-subunit containing oligosaccharides by relative abundance as determined by mass spectrometry; and wherein the level of a plurality of metabolites associated with amino acid degradation is lower in a gastrointestinal sample from said animal compared to a gastrointestinal sample from a comparable control animal that has been administered a comparable nutritional composition comprising said base nutritional composition and lacking said synthetic oligosaccharide preparation.

[00231] In some embodiments, said plurality comprises at least 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, or 10 metabolites.

[00232] In some embodiments, said plurality comprises at least 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, or 10 metabolites selected from the group consisting of (3S,5S)-3,5-diaminohexanoate, (S)-3-methyl-2-oxopentanoate, (S)-5-amino-3-oxohexanoate, 2-oxoglutarate, acetyl-CoA, ammonia, D-alanine, Formate, Fumarate, Glycine, L-2-amino-3-oxobutanoate, L-alanine, L-asparagine, L-aspartate, L-glutamate, L-isoleucine, N-formimino-L-glutamate, N-formyl-L-glutamate, N2-succinylglutamate, and Pyruvate.

[00233] In some embodiments, the level of said plurality of metabolites in said gastrointestinal sample is at least 1%, 2%, 3%, 4%, 5%, 10%, 15%, 20%, or 25% lower than the level of said plurality of metabolites in said gastrointestinal sample from a comparable control animal that has been administered a comparable nutritional composition comprising said base nutritional composition lacking said synthetic oligosaccharide preparation.

[00234] In some embodiments, the level of said plurality of metabolites in said gastrointestinal sample is at least about 0.1 fold, 0.2 fold, 0.3 fold, 0.4 fold, 0.5 fold, 0.6 fold, 0.7 fold, 0.8 fold, 0.9 fold, 1 fold, 2 fold, 3 fold, 4 fold, 5 fold, 6 fold, 7 fold, 8 fold, 9 fold, or 10 fold lower than the level of said plurality of metabolites in said gastrointestinal sample from a comparable control animal that has been administered a comparable nutritional composition comprising said base nutritional composition lacking said synthetic oligosaccharide preparation.

[00235] In some embodiments, said gastrointestinal sample is a biopsy of a gastrointestinal tissue, a fecal sample, rumen fluid sample, or a cloacal swab.

[00236] In some embodiments, said gastrointestinal tissue is cecal tissue or ileum tissue.

[00237] In some embodiments, said nutritional composition comprising said synthetic oligosaccharide preparation is administered to said animal for at least 1, 7, 10, 14, 30, 45, 60, 90, or 120 days.

[00238] In some embodiments, said nutritional composition comprising said synthetic oligosaccharide preparation is administered to said animal at least once, twice, three, four, or five times a day.

[00239] In some embodiments, said administering comprises providing the nutritional composition to said animal to ingest at will.

[00240] In some embodiments, said animal ingests at least a portion of said nutritional composition in over at least 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 90, or 120 twenty-four-hour periods.

[00241] In some embodiments, said nutritional composition comprises at least lOOppm, 200ppm, 300ppm, 400ppm, 500ppm, 600ppm, 700ppm, 800ppm, 900ppm, lOOOppm, 1500ppm, or 2000ppm said synthetic oligosaccharide preparation.

[00242] In some embodiments, said nutritional composition comprises about lOOppm, 200ppm, 300ppm, 400ppm, 500ppm, 600ppm, 700ppm, 800ppm, 900ppm, lOOOppm, 1500ppm, or 2000ppm said synthetic oligosaccharide preparation.

[00243] In some embodiments, said nutritional composition comprises about 500ppm said synthetic oligosaccharide preparation.

[00244] In some embodiments, said nutritional composition comprises from about lOOppm -2000ppm, lOOppm - 1500ppm, lOOppm - lOOOppm, lOOppm - 900ppm, lOOppm - 800ppm, lOOppm -700ppm, lOOppm - 600ppm, lOOppm - 500ppm, lOOppm - 400ppm, lOOppm - 300ppm, lOOppm -200ppm, 200ppm - lOOOppm, 200ppm - 800ppm, 200ppm - 700ppm, 200ppm - 600ppm, 200ppm -500ppm, 300ppm - lOOOppm, 300ppm - 700ppm, 300ppm - 600ppm, or 300ppm - 500ppm said synthetic oligosaccharide preparation.

[00245] In some embodiments, said nutritional composition comprises from about 300ppm - 600ppm said synthetic oligosaccharide preparation.

[00246] In some embodiments, said animal has an increased body weight relative to a body weight of said animal prior to administration of said nutritional composition comprising said synthetic oligosaccharide preparation.

[00247] In some embodiments, said body weight of said animal is at least 1%, 2%, 3%, 4%, 5%, 5%, 7%, 8%, 9%, or 10% increased relative to said body weight of said animal prior to administration of said nutritional composition comprising said synthetic oligosaccharide preparation.

[00248] In some embodiments, said increase in body weight is a larger increase relative to a comparable control animal administered a comparable nutritional composition comprising said base nutritional composition lacking said synthetic oligosaccharide preparation.

[00249] In some embodiments, said body weight of said animal is at least 1%, 2%, 3%, 4%, 5%, 5%, 7%, 8%, 9%, or 10% increased relative to said body weight of said comparable control animal administered a comparable nutritional composition comprising said base nutritional composition lacking said synthetic oligosaccharide preparation.

[00250] In some embodiments, said animal has an increased feed efficiency relative to a feed efficiency of said animal prior to administration of said nutritional composition comprising said synthetic oligosaccharide preparation.

[00251] In some embodiments, said feed efficiency of said animal is at least 1%, 2%, 3%, 4%, 5%, 5%, 7%, 8%, 9%, or 10% increased relative to said feed efficiency of said animal prior to administration of said nutritional composition comprising said synthetic oligosaccharide preparation.

[00252] In some embodiments, said animal has said increase in feed efficiency is a larger increase relative to a comparable control animal administered a comparable nutritional composition comprising said base nutritional composition lacking said synthetic oligosaccharide preparation.

[00253] In some embodiments, said increase in feed efficiency of said animal is at least 1%, 2%, 3%, 4%, 5%, 5%, 7%, 8%, 9%, or 10% increased relative to said body weight of said comparable control animal administered a comparable nutritional composition comprising said base nutritional composition lacking said synthetic oligosaccharide preparation.

[00254] In some embodiments, said animal has a decreased feed conversion ratio (FCR) relative to an FCR of said animal prior to administration of said nutritional composition comprising said synthetic oligosaccharide preparation.

[00255] In some embodiments, said feed conversion ratio of said animal is at least 1%, 2%, 3%, 4%, 5%, 5%, 7%, 8%, 9%, or 10% decreased relative to the feed conversion ratio of said animal prior to administration of said nutritional composition comprising said synthetic oligosaccharide preparation.

[00256] In some embodiments, said animal has said decrease in feed conversion ratio is a larger decrease relative to a comparable control animal administered a comparable nutritional composition comprising said base nutritional composition lacking said synthetic oligosaccharide preparation.

[00257] In some embodiments, said feed conversion ratio of said animal is at least 1%, 2%, 3%, 4%, 5%, 5%, 7%, 8%, 9%, or 10% decreased relative to the feed conversion ratio of said comparable control animal administered a comparable nutritional composition comprising said base nutritional composition lacking said synthetic oligosaccharide preparation.

[00258] In some embodiments, a life expectancy or survival rate of said animal is increased relative to a comparable control animal that was administered a comparable nutritional composition comprising said base nutritional composition lacking said synthetic oligosaccharide preparation.

[00259] In some embodiments, administering results in at least one of a) improved nutrient absorption, b) improved mitochondrial function, c) improved liver function, d) improved kidney function, e) improved sociability, f) improved mood, g) improved energy, h) improved satiety; and i) improved alertness; each relative to an animal administered a nutrition composition lacking said synthetic oligosaccharide preparation.

[00260] In some embodiments, administering results in at least one of a) improved nutrient absorption, b) improved mitochondrial function, c) improved liver function, d) improved kidney function, e) improved sociability, f) improved mood, g) improved energy, h) improved satiety; and i) improved alertness; each relative to said animal prior to administration of said synthetic oligosaccharide preparation.

[00261] In some embodiments, administering results in improved quality of meat derived from said animal relative to an animal administered a nutrition composition lacking said synthetic oligosaccharide preparation.

[00262] In some embodiments, administering results in at least one of a) enhanced color of the animal meat, b) enhanced flavor of the animal meat, and c) enhanced tenderness of the animal meat.

[00263] In some embodiments, said animal is a poultry, seafood, sheep, cow, cattle, buffalo, bison, pig, cat, dog, rabbit, goat, guinea pig, donkey, camel, horse, pigeon, ferret, gerbil, hamster, mouse, rat, fish, or bird.

[00264] In some embodiments, said animal is a poultry. In some embodiments, said poultry is a chicken, turkey, duck, or goose. In some embodiments, said poultry is a chicken. In some embodiments, said chicken is a broiler chicken, a layer chicken, or a breeder chicken.

[00265] In some embodiments, the animal is a pig. In some embodiments, said pig is a nursery pig, a grower pig, or a finisher pig.

[00266] In some embodiments, said animal is a fish. In some embodiments, said fish is a salmon, a tilapia, or a tropical fish.

[00267] In some embodiments, said animal is a livestock animal.

[00268] In some embodiments, said animal is a companion animal. In some embodiments, said companion animal is a cat, dog, hamster, rabbit, guinea pig, ferret, gerbil, bird, or mouse.

[00269] In some embodiments, said relative abundance of oligosaccharides in at least 5, 10, 20, or 30 DP fractions decreases monotonically with its degree of polymerization.

[00270] In some embodiments, said relative abundance of oligosaccharides in each of the n fractions decreases monotonically with its degree of polymerization. In some embodiments, n is at least 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87, 88, 89, 90, 91, 92, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98, 99, or 100.

[00271] In some embodiments, said DP2 fraction comprises less than 12%, less than 11%, less than 10%, less than 9%, less than 8%, less than 7%, less than 6%, less than 5%, less than 4%, less than 3%, less than 2%, or less than 1% anhydro-subunit containing oligosaccharides by relative abundance.

[00272] In some embodiments, said DP2 fraction comprises from about 5% to about 10% of anhydrosubunit containing oligosaccharides by relative abundance.

[00273] In some embodiments, said DP2 fraction comprises from about 1% to about 10% of anhydrosubunit containing oligosaccharides by relative abundance.

[00274] In some embodiments, said DP2 fraction comprises from about 0.5% to about 10% of anhydro-subunit containing oligosaccharides by relative abundance.

[00275] In some embodiments, said DP2 fraction comprises from about 2% to about 12% of anhydrosubunit containing oligosaccharides by relative abundance.

[00276] In some embodiments, said DPI fraction comprises less than 12%, less than 11%, less than 10%, less than 9%, less than 8%, less than 7%, less than 6%, less than 5%, less than 4%, less than 3%, less than 2%, or less than 1% anhydro-subunit containing oligosaccharides by relative abundance.

[00277] In some embodiments, said DPI fraction comprises from about 2% to about 12% of anhydrosubunit containing oligosaccharides by relative abundance.

[00278] In some embodiments, said DPI fraction comprises from about 1% to about 10% of anhydrosubunit containing oligosaccharides by relative abundance.

[00279] In some embodiments, said DPI fraction comprises from about 0.5% to about 10% of anhydro-subunit containing oligosaccharides by relative abundance.

[00280] In some embodiments, said DPI fraction comprises from about 5% to about 10% of anhydrosubunit containing oligosaccharides by relative abundance.

[00281] In some embodiments, said DP3 fraction comprises less than 15%, less than 12%, less than 11%, less than 10%, less than 9%, less than 8%, less than 7%, less than 6%, less than 5%, less than 4%, less than 3%, less than 2%, or less than 1% anhydro-subunit containing oligosaccharides by relative abundance.

[00282] In some embodiments, said DP3 fraction comprises from about 2% to about 12% of anhydrosubunit containing oligosaccharides by relative abundance.

[00283] In some embodiments, said DP3 fraction comprises from about 1% to about 10% of anhydrosubunit containing oligosaccharides by relative abundance.

[00284] In some embodiments, said DP3 fraction comprises from about 0.5% to about 10% of anhydro-subunit containing oligosaccharides by relative abundance.

[00285] In some embodiments, said DP3 fraction comprises from about 5% to about 10% of anhydrosubunit containing oligosaccharides by relative abundance.

[00286] In some embodiments, said oligosaccharide preparation comprises from about 2% to about 12% anhydro-subunit containing oligosaccharides by relative abundance.

[00287] In some embodiments, said oligosaccharide preparation comprises from about 0.5% to about 10% anhydro-subunit containing oligosaccharides by relative abundance.

[00288] In some embodiments, said oligosaccharide preparation comprises from about 1% to about 10% anhydro-subunit containing oligosaccharides by relative abundance.

[00289] In some embodiments, said oligosaccharide preparation comprises from about 5% to about 10% anhydro-subunit containing oligosaccharides by relative abundance.

[00290] In some embodiments, said DP2 fraction comprises greater than 0.6%, greater than 0.8%, greater than 1.0%, greater than 1.5%, greater than 2%, greater than 3%, greater than 4%, greater than 5%, greater than 6%, greater than 7%, greater than 8%, greater than 9%, greater than 10%, greater than 11%, or greater than 12% anhydro-subunit containing oligosaccharides by relative abundance.

[00291] In some embodiments, said DPI fraction comprises greater than 0.6%, greater than 0.8%, greater than 1.0%, greater than 1.5%, greater than 2%, greater than 3%, greater than 4%, greater than 5%, greater than 6%, greater than 7%, greater than 8%, greater than 9%, greater than 10%, greater than 11%, or greater than 12% anhydro-subunit containing oligosaccharides by relative abundance.

[00292] In some embodiments, said DP3 fraction comprises greater than 0.6%, greater than 0.8%, greater than 1.0%, greater than 1.5%, greater than 2%, greater than 3%, greater than 4%, greater than 5%, greater than 6%, greater than 7%, greater than 8%, greater than 9%, greater than 10%, greater than 11%, or greater than 12% anhydro-subunit containing oligosaccharides by relative abundance.

[00293] In some embodiments, said oligosaccharide preparation comprises greater than 0.5%, 0.6%, greater than 0.8%, greater than 1.0%, greater than 1.5%, greater than 2%, greater than 3%, greater than 4%, greater than 5%, greater than 6%, greater than 7%, greater than 8%, greater than 9%, greater than 10%, greater than 11%, or greater than 12% anhydro-subunit containing oligosaccharides by relative abundance.

[00294] In some embodiments, said oligosaccharide preparation has a DPI fraction content of from about 1% to about 40 % by weight as determined by liquid chromatography.

[00295] In some embodiments, said oligosaccharide preparation has a DP2 fraction content of from about 1% to about 35 % by weight as determined by liquid chromatography.

[00296] In some embodiments, said oligosaccharide preparation has a DP3 fraction content of from about 1% to about 30 % by weight as determined by liquid chromatography.

[00297] In some embodiments, said oligosaccharide preparation has a DP4 fraction content of from about 0.1% to about 20 % by weight as determined by liquid chromatography

[00298] In some embodiments, said oligosaccharide preparation has a DP5 fraction content of from about 0.1% to about 15 % by weight as determined by liquid chromatography.

[00299] In some embodiments, a ratio of the DP2 fraction to the DPI fraction is from about 0.02 to about 0.40 as determined by liquid chromatography.

[00300] In some embodiments, a ratio of the DP3 fraction to the DP2 fraction is from about 0.01 to about 0.30 as determined by liquid chromatography.

[00301] In some embodiments, an aggregate content of the DPI and the DP2 fractions in the oligosaccharide preparation is less than 50%, less than 40%, or less than 30% as determined by liquid chromatography.

[00302] In some embodiments, said oligosaccharide preparation comprises at least 103, at least 104, at least 105, at least 106 or at least 109 different oligosaccharide species.

[00303] In some embodiments, two or more independent oligosaccharides comprise different anhydrosubunits.

[00304] In some embodiments, each of said anhydro-subunit containing oligosaccharides comprises one or more anhydro-subunits that are products of thermal dehydration of monosaccharides.

[00305] In some embodiments, said oligosaccharide preparation comprises one or more anhydrosubunits selected from anhydro-glucose, anhydro-galactose, anhydro-mannose, anhydro-allose, anhydro-altrose, anhydro-gulose, anhydro-indose, anhydro-talose, anhydro-fructose, anhydro-ribose, anhydro-arabinose, anhydro-rhamnose, anhydro-lyxose, and anhydro-xylose.

[00306] In some embodiments, said oligosaccharide preparation comprises one or more anhydroglucose, anhydro-galactose, anhydro-mannose, or anhydro-fructose subunits.

[00307] In some embodiments, said DPI fraction comprises 1,6-anhydro-P-D-glucofuranose or 1,6-anhydro-P-D-glucopyranose anhydro-subunits.

[00308] In some embodiments, said DPI fraction comprises both 1,6-anhydro-P-D-glucofuranose and 1,6-anhydro-P-D-glucopyranose anhydro-subunits.

[00309] In some embodiments, a ratio of the 1,6-anhydro-P-D-glucofuranose to the 1,6-anhydro-P-D-glucopyranose is from about 10:1 to 1:10, from about 9:1 to about 1:10, from about 8:1 to about 1:10, from about 7:1 to about 1:10, from about 6:1 to about 1:10, from about 5:1 to about 1:10, from about 4:1 to about 1:10, from about 3:1 to about 1:10, from about 2:1 to about 1:10, from about 10:1 to about 1:9, from about 10:1 to about 1:8, from about 10:1 to about 1:7, from about 10:1 to about 1:6, from about 10:1 to about 1:5, from about 10:1 to about 1:4, from about 10:1 to about 1:3, from about 10:1 to about 1:2, or from about 1:1 to about 3:1 in the oligosaccharide reparation.

[00310] In some embodiments, a ratio of the 1,6-anhydro-P-D-glucofuranose to the 1,6-anhydro-P-D-glucopyranose is about 10:1, about 9:1, about 8:1, about 7:1, about 6:1, about 5:1, about 4:1, about 3:1, about 2:1, about 1:1, about 1:2, about 1:3, about 1:4, about 1:5, about 1:6, about 1:7, about 1:8, about 1:9, or about 1:10 in the oligosaccharide preparation.

[00311] In some embodiments, a ratio of the 1,6-anhydro-P-D-glucofuranose to the 1,6-anhydro-P-D-glucopyranose is about 2:1 in the oligosaccharide preparation.

[00312] In some embodiments, said DP2 fraction comprises at least 5 species of anhydro-subunit containing oligosaccharides.

[00313] In some embodiments, said DP2 fraction comprises about 5 to 10 species of anhydro-subunit containing oligosaccharides.

[00314] In some embodiments, said oligosaccharide preparation comprises one or more sugar caramelization products. In some embodiments, said sugar caramelization products are selected from a group consisting of: methanol; ethanol; furan; methyl glyoxal; 2-methyl furan; vinyl acetate; glycolaldehyde; acetic acid; acetol; furfural; 2-furanmethanol; 3-furanmethanol; 2-hydroxy cyclopent-2-en-l-one; 5-methyl furfural; 2(5H)-furanone; 2 methyl cyclopentenol one; levoglucosenone; cyclic hydroxyl lactone; 1,4,3,6-dianhydro-a-D-glucopyranose; dianhydro glucopyranose; and 5-hydroxy methyl furfural (5-hmf).

[00315] In some embodiments, greater than 50%, 60%, 70%, 80%, 90%, 95%, or 99% of the anhydrosubunit containing oligosaccharides comprise a chain-end anhydro-subunit.

[00316] In some embodiments, said oligosaccharide preparation has a weight average molecular weight of from about 300 to about 5000 g / mol as determined by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC).

[00317] In some embodiments, said oligosaccharide preparation has a weight average molecular weight of from about 300 to about 2500 g / mol as determined by HPLC.

[00318] In some embodiments, said oligosaccharide preparation has a weight average molecular weight of from about 500 to about 2000 g / mol as determined by HPLC.

[00319] In some embodiments, said oligosaccharide preparation has a weight average molecular weight of from about 500 to about 1500 g / mol as determined by HPLC.

[00320] In some embodiments, said oligosaccharide preparation has a number average molecular weight of from about 300 to about 5000 g / mol as determined by HPLC.

[00321] In some embodiments, said oligosaccharide preparation has a number average molecular weight of from about 300 to about 2500 g / mol as determined by HPLC.

[00322] In some embodiments, said oligosaccharide preparation has a number average molecular weight of from about 500 to about 2000 g / mol as determined by HPLC.

[00323] In some embodiments, said oligosaccharide preparation has a number average molecular weight of from about 500 to about 1500 g / mol as determined by HPLC.

[00324] In some embodiments, said oligosaccharide preparation has a weight average molecular weight of from about 2000 to about 2800 g / mol.

[00325] In some embodiments, said oligosaccharide preparation has a number average molecular weight of from about 1000 to about 2000 g / mol.

[00326] In some embodiments, said nutritional composition comprising said synthetic oligosaccharide preparation is administered to said animal for at least 1, 7, 10, 14, 30, 45, 60, 90, or 120 days.

[00327] In some embodiments, said nutritional composition comprising said synthetic oligosaccharide preparation is administered to said animal at least once, twice, three, four, or five times a day.

[00328] In some embodiments, said administering comprises providing the nutritional composition to said animal to ingest at will.

[00329] In some embodiments, said animal ingests at least a portion of said nutritional composition in over at least 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 90, or 120 twenty-four-hour periods.

[00330] In some embodiments, said nutritional composition comprises at least lOOppm, 200ppm, 300ppm, 400ppm, 500ppm, 600ppm, 700ppm, 800ppm, 900ppm, lOOOppm, 1500ppm, or 2000ppm said synthetic oligosaccharide preparation.

[00331] In some embodiments, said nutritional composition comprises about lOOppm, 200ppm, 300ppm, 400ppm, 500ppm, 600ppm, 700ppm, 800ppm, 900ppm, lOOOppm, 1500ppm, or 2000ppm said synthetic oligosaccharide preparation. In some embodiments, said nutritional composition comprises about 500ppm said synthetic oligosaccharide preparation.

[00332] In some embodiments, said nutritional composition comprises from about lOOppm -2000ppm, lOOppm - 1500ppm, lOOppm - lOOOppm, lOOppm - 900ppm, lOOppm - 800ppm, lOOppm -700ppm, lOOppm - 600ppm, lOOppm - 500ppm, lOOppm - 400ppm, lOOppm - 300ppm, lOOppm -200ppm, 200ppm - lOOOppm, 200ppm - 800ppm, 200ppm - 700ppm, 200ppm - 600ppm, 200ppm -500ppm, 300ppm - lOOOppm, 300ppm - 700ppm, 300ppm - 600ppm, or 300ppm - 500ppm said synthetic oligosaccharide preparation.

[00333] In some embodiments, said nutritional composition comprises from about 300ppm - 600ppm said synthetic oligosaccharide preparation.

[00334] In one aspect, provided herein are methods of improving carbon utilization in an animal, the methods comprising: administering a nutritional composition comprising a base nutritional composition and a synthetic oligosaccharide preparation to said animal, wherein said synthetic oligosaccharide preparation comprises at least n fractions of oligosaccharides each having a distinct degree of polymerization selected from 1 to n (DPI to DPn fractions), wherein n is an integer greater than 3; and wherein each of a DPI and DP2 fraction independently comprises from about 0.5% to about 15% of anhydro-subunit containing oligosaccharides by relative abundance as determined by mass spectrometry, and wherein the level of a plurality of metabolites associated with improved carbon utilization in a gastrointestinal sample from said animal is higher compared to a comparable control animal that has been administered a comparable nutritional composition comprising said base nutritional composition and lacking said synthetic oligosaccharide preparation.

[00335] In some embodiments, said plurality comprises at least 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, or 10 metabolites.

[00336] In some embodiments, said plurality comprises at least 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, or 10 metabolites selected from the group consisting of (R)-lactate, (R)-lactoyl-CoA, (S)-lactate, (S)-propane-1,2,-diol, 1-propanal, acetate, acetyl-CoA, acryloyl-CoA, propanoate, propanoyl-CoA, and pyruvate.

[00337] In some embodiments, the level of said at least metabolite is at least about 0.5%, 1%, 2%, 3%, 4%, 5%, 10%, 15%, 20%, or 25% higher than the level in said gastrointestinal sample from a comparable control animal that has been administered a comparable nutritional composition comprising said base nutritional composition lacking said synthetic oligosaccharide preparation.

[00338] In some embodiments, the level of said at least metabolite is at least about 0.1 fold, 0.2 fold, 0.3 fold, 0.4 fold, 0.5 fold, 0.6 fold, 0.7 fold, 0.8 fold, 0.9 fold, 1 fold, 2 fold, 3 fold, 4 fold, 5 fold, 6 fold, 7 fold, 8 fold, 9 fold, or 10 fold higher than the level in said gastrointestinal sample from a comparable control animal that has been administered a comparable nutritional composition comprising said base nutritional composition lacking said synthetic oligosaccharide preparation.

[00339] In some embodiments, the level of a plurality of metabolites associated with energy metabolism is higher in a gastrointestinal sample from said animal compared to a gastrointestinal sample from a comparable control animal that has been administered a comparable nutritional composition comprising said base nutritional composition lacking said synthetic oligosaccharide preparation.

[00340] In some embodiments, said plurality comprises at least 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, or 10 metabolites.

[00341] In some embodiments, said plurality comprises at least 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, or 10 metabolites selected from the group consisting of 2-oxoglutarate, fumarate, L-alanine, L-glutamate, oxaloacetate, propanoyl-CoA, pyruvate, and succinate.

[00342] In some embodiments, the level of said plurality of metabolites in said gastrointestinal sample is at least 1%, 2%, 3%, 4%, 5%, 10%, 15%, 20%, or 25% higher than the level of said plurality of metabolites in said gastrointestinal sample from a comparable control animal that has been administered a comparable nutritional composition comprising said base nutritional composition lacking said synthetic oligosaccharide preparation.

[00343] In some embodiments, the level of said plurality of metabolites in said gastrointestinal sample is at least about 0.1 fold, 0.2 fold, 0.3 fold, 0.4 fold, 0.5 fold, 0.6 fold, 0.7 fold, 0.8 fold, 0.9 fold, 1 fold, 2 fold, 3 fold, 4 fold, 5 fold, 6 fold, 7 fold, 8 fold, 9 fold, or 10 fold higher than the level of said plurality of metabolites in said gastrointestinal sample from a comparable control animal that has been administered a comparable nutritional composition comprising said base nutritional composition lacking said synthetic oligosaccharide preparation.

[00344] In some embodiments, said gastrointestinal sample is a biopsy of a gastrointestinal tissue, a fecal sample, rumen fluid sample, or a cloacal swab.

[00345] In some embodiments, said gastrointestinal tissue is cecal tissue or ileum tissue.

[00346] In some embodiments, said plurality comprises at least 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, or 10 metabolites selected from the group consisting of (3R)-3-hydroxybutanoyl-CoA, (R)-lactate, (R)-lactoyl-CoA, (S)-3-aminobutanoyl-CoA, (S)-3-hydroxy-isobutanoate, (S)-3-hydroxy-isobutanoyl-CoA, (S)-3-hydroxybutanoyl-CoA, (S)-5-amino-3-oxohexanoate, (S)-lactate, 4-hydroxybutanoate, Acetate, Acetoacetate, acetoacetyl-CoA, acetyl-CoA, butanoate, butanoyl-CoA, coenzyme A, crotonyl-CoA, succinate, succincatesemialdehyde, and succinyl-CoA.

[00347] In some embodiments, the level of said at least metabolite is at least about 0.5%, 1%, 2%, 3%, 4%, 5%, 10%, 15%, 20%, or 25% higher than the level in said gastrointestinal sample from a comparable control animal that has been administered a comparable nutritional composition comprising said base nutritional composition lacking said synthetic oligosaccharide preparation.

[00348] In some embodiments, the level of said at least metabolite is at least about 0.1 fold, 0.2 fold, 0.3 fold, 0.4 fold, 0.5 fold, 0.6 fold, 0.7 fold, 0.8 fold, 0.9 fold, 1 fold, 2 fold, 3 fold, 4 fold, 5 fold, 6 fold, 7 fold, 8 fold, 9 fold, or 10 fold higher than the level in said gastrointestinal sample from a comparable control animal that has been administered a comparable nutritional composition comprising said base nutritional composition lacking said synthetic oligosaccharide preparation.

[00349] In some embodiments, the level of a plurality of metabolites associated with carbon utilization is lower in a gastrointestinal sample from said animal compared to a gastrointestinal sample from a comparable control animal that has been administered a comparable nutritional composition comprising said base nutritional composition lacking said synthetic oligosaccharide preparation.

[00350] In some embodiments, said plurality comprises at least 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, or 10 metabolites.

[00351] In some embodiments, the level of said plurality of metabolites in said gastrointestinal sample is at least 1%, 2%, 3%, 4%, 5%, 10%, 15%, 20%, or 25% lower than the level of said plurality of metabolites in said gastrointestinal sample from a comparable control animal that has been administered a comparable nutritional composition comprising said base nutritional composition lacking said synthetic oligosaccharide preparation.

[00352] In some embodiments, the level of said plurality of metabolites in said gastrointestinal sample is at least about 0.1 fold, 0.2 fold, 0.3 fold, 0.4 fold, 0.5 fold, 0.6 fold, 0.7 fold, 0.8 fold, 0.9 fold, 1 fold, 2 fold, 3 fold, 4 fold, 5 fold, 6 fold, 7 fold, 8 fold, 9 fold, or 10 fold lower than the level of said plurality of metabolites in said gastrointestinal sample from a comparable control animal that has been administered a comparable nutritional composition comprising said base nutritional composition lacking said synthetic oligosaccharide preparation.

[00353] In some embodiments, said gastrointestinal sample is a biopsy of a gastrointestinal tissue, a fecal sample, rumen fluid sample, or a cloacal swab.

[00354] In some embodiments, said gastrointestinal tissue is cecal tissue or ileum tissue.

[00355] In some embodiments, said nutritional composition comprising said synthetic oligosaccharide preparation is administered to said animal for at least 1, 7, 10, 14, 30, 45, 60, 90, or 120 days.

[00356] In some embodiments, said nutritional composition comprising said synthetic oligosaccharide preparation is administered to said animal at least once, twice, three, four, or five times a day.

[00357] In some embodiments, said administering comprises providing the nutritional composition to said animal to ingest at will.

[00358] In some embodiments, said animal ingests at least a portion of said nutritional composition in over at least 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 90, or 120 twenty-four-hour periods.

[00359] In some embodiments, said nutritional composition comprises at least lOOppm, 200ppm, 300ppm, 400ppm, 500ppm, 600ppm, 700ppm, 800ppm, 900ppm, lOOOppm, 1500ppm, or 2000ppm said synthetic oligosaccharide preparation.

[00360] In some embodiments, said nutritional composition comprises about lOOppm, 200ppm, 300ppm, 400ppm, 500ppm, 600ppm, 700ppm, 800ppm, 900ppm, lOOOppm, 1500ppm, or 2000ppm said synthetic oligosaccharide preparation.

[00361] In some embodiments, said nutritional composition comprises about 500ppm said synthetic oligosaccharide preparation.

[00362] In some embodiments, said nutritional composition comprises from about lOOppm -2000ppm, lOOppm - 1500ppm, lOOppm - lOOOppm, lOOppm - 900ppm, lOOppm - 800ppm, lOOppm -700ppm, lOOppm - 600ppm, lOOppm - 500ppm, lOOppm - 400ppm, lOOppm - 300ppm, lOOppm -200ppm, 200ppm - lOOOppm, 200ppm - 800ppm, 200ppm - 700ppm, 200ppm - 600ppm, 200ppm -500ppm, 300ppm - lOOOppm, 300ppm - 700ppm, 300ppm - 600ppm, or 300ppm - 500ppm said synthetic oligosaccharide preparation.

[00363] In some embodiments, said nutritional composition comprises from about 300ppm - 600ppm said synthetic oligosaccharide preparation.

[00364] In some embodiments, said animal has an increased body weight relative to a body weight of said animal prior to administration of said nutritional composition comprising said synthetic oligosaccharide preparation.

[00365] In some embodiments, said body weight of said animal is at least 1%, 2%, 3%, 4%, 5%, 5%, 7%, 8%, 9%, or 10% increased relative to said body weight of said animal prior to administration of said nutritional composition comprising said synthetic oligosaccharide preparation.

[00366] In some embodiments, said increase in body weight is a larger increase relative to a comparable control animal administered a comparable nutritional composition comprising said base nutritional composition lacking said synthetic oligosaccharide preparation.

[00367] In some embodiments, said body weight of said animal is at least 1%, 2%, 3%, 4%, 5%, 5%, 7%, 8%, 9%, or 10% increased relative to said body weight of said comparable control animal administered a comparable nutritional composition comprising said base nutritional composition lacking said synthetic oligosaccharide preparation.

[00368] In some embodiments, said animal has an increased feed efficiency relative to a feed efficiency of said animal prior to administration of said nutritional composition comprising said synthetic oligosaccharide preparation.

[00369] In some embodiments, said feed efficiency of said animal is at least 1%, 2%, 3%, 4%, 5%, 5%, 7%, 8%, 9%, or 10% increased relative to said feed efficiency of said animal prior to administration of said nutritional composition comprising said synthetic oligosaccharide preparation.

[00370] In some embodiments, said animal has said increase in feed efficiency is a larger increase relative to a comparable control animal administered a comparable nutritional composition comprising said base nutritional composition lacking said synthetic oligosaccharide preparation.

[00371] In some embodiments, said increase in feed efficiency of said animal is at least 1%, 2%, 3%, 4%, 5%, 5%, 7%, 8%, 9%, or 10% increased relative to said body weight of said comparable control animal administered a comparable nutritional composition comprising said base nutritional composition lacking said synthetic oligosaccharide preparation.

[00372] In some embodiments, said animal has a decreased feed conversion ratio (FCR) relative to an FCR of said animal prior to administration of said nutritional composition comprising said synthetic oligosaccharide preparation.

[00373] In some embodiments, said feed conversion ratio of said animal is at least 1%, 2%, 3%, 4%, 5%, 5%, 7%, 8%, 9%, or 10% decreased relative to the feed conversion ratio of said animal prior to administration of said nutritional composition comprising said synthetic oligosaccharide preparation.

[00374] In some embodiments, said animal has said decrease in feed conversion ratio is a larger decrease relative to a comparable control animal administered a comparable nutritional composition comprising said base nutritional composition lacking said synthetic oligosaccharide preparation.

[00375] In some embodiments, said feed conversion ratio of said animal is at least 1%, 2%, 3%, 4%, 5%, 5%, 7%, 8%, 9%, or 10% decreased relative to the feed conversion ratio of said comparable control animal administered a comparable nutritional composition comprising said base nutritional composition lacking said synthetic oligosaccharide preparation.

[00376] In some embodiments, a life expectancy or survival rate of said animal is increased relative to a comparable control animal that was administered a comparable nutritional composition comprising said base nutritional composition lacking said synthetic oligosaccharide preparation.

[00377] In some embodiments, administering results in at least one of a) improved nutrient absorption, b) improved mitochondrial function, c) improved liver function, d) improved kidney function, e) improved sociability, f) improved mood, g) improved energy, h) improved satiety; and i) improved alertness; each relative to an animal administered a nutrition composition lacking said synthetic oligosaccharide preparation.

[00378] In some embodiments, administering results in at least one of a) improved nutrient absorption, b) improved mitochondrial function, c) improved liver function, d) improved kidney function, e) improved sociability, f) improved mood, g) improved energy, h) improved satiety; and i) improved alertness; each relative to said animal prior to administration of said synthetic oligosaccharide preparation.

[00379] In some embodiments, administering results in improved quality of meat derived from said animal relative to an animal administered a nutrition composition lacking said synthetic oligosaccharide preparation.

[00380] In some embodiments, administering results in at least one of a) enhanced color of the animal meat, b) enhanced flavor of the animal meat, and c) enhanced tenderness of the animal meat.

[00381] In some embodiments, said animal is a poultry, seafood, sheep, cow, cattle, buffalo, bison, pig, cat, dog, rabbit, goat, guinea pig, donkey, camel, horse, pigeon, ferret, gerbil, hamster, mouse, rat, fish, or bird.

[00382] In some embodiments, said animal is a poultry. In some embodiments, said poultry is a chicken, turkey, duck, or goose. In some embodiments, said poultry is a chicken. In some embodiments, said chicken is a broiler chicken, a layer chicken, or a breeder chicken.

[00383] In some embodiments, the animal is a pig. In some embodiments, said pig is a nursery pig, a grower pig, or a finisher pig.

[00384] In some embodiments, said animal is a fish. In some embodiments, said fish is a salmon, a tilapia, or a tropical fish.

[00385] In some embodiments, said animal is a livestock animal.

[00386] In some embodiments, said animal is a companion animal. In some embodiments, said companion animal is a cat, dog, hamster, rabbit, guinea pig, ferret, gerbil, bird, or mouse.

[00387] In some embodiments, said relative abundance of oligosaccharides in at least 5, 10, 20, or 30 DP fractions decreases monotonically with its degree of polymerization.

[00388] In some embodiments, said relative abundance of oligosaccharides in each of the n fractions decreases monotonically with its degree of polymerization. In some embodiments, n is at least 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87, 88, 89, 90, 91, 92, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98, 99, or 100.

[00389] In some embodiments, said DP2 fraction comprises less than 12%, less than 11%, less than 10%, less than 9%, less than 8%, less than 7%, less than 6%, less than 5%, less than 4%, less than 3%, less than 2%, or less than 1% anhydro-subunit containing oligosaccharides by relative abundance.

[00390] In some embodiments, said DP2 fraction comprises from about 5% to about 10% of anhydrosubunit containing oligosaccharides by relative abundance.

[00391] In some embodiments, said DP2 fraction comprises from about 1% to about 10% of anhydrosubunit containing oligosaccharides by relative abundance.

[00392] In some embodiments, said DP2 fraction comprises from about 0.5% to about 10% of anhydro-subunit containing oligosaccharides by relative abundance.

[00393] In some embodiments, said DP2 fraction comprises from about 2% to about 12% of anhydrosubunit containing oligosaccharides by relative abundance.

[00394] In some embodiments, said DPI fraction comprises less than 12%, less than 11%, less than 10%, less than 9%, less than 8%, less than 7%, less than 6%, less than 5%, less than 4%, less than 3%, less than 2%, or less than 1% anhydro-subunit containing oligosaccharides by relative abundance.

[00395] In some embodiments, said DPI fraction comprises from about 2% to about 12% of anhydrosubunit containing oligosaccharides by relative abundance.

[00396] In some embodiments, said DPI fraction comprises from about 1% to about 10% of anhydrosubunit containing oligosaccharides by relative abundance.

[00397] In some embodiments, said DPI fraction comprises from about 0.5% to about 10% of anhydro-subunit containing oligosaccharides by relative abundance.

[00398] In some embodiments, said DPI fraction comprises from about 5% to about 10% of anhydrosubunit containing oligosaccharides by relative abundance.

[00399] In some embodiments, said DP3 fraction comprises less than 15%, less than 12%, less than 11%, less than 10%, less than 9%, less than 8%, less than 7%, less than 6%, less than 5%, less than 4%, less than 3%, less than 2%, or less than 1% anhydro-subunit containing oligosaccharides by relative abundance.

[00400] In some embodiments, said DP3 fraction comprises from about 2% to about 12% of anhydrosubunit containing oligosaccharides by relative abundance.

[00401] In some embodiments, said DP3 fraction comprises from about 1% to about 10% of anhydrosubunit containing oligosaccharides by relative abundance.

[00402] In some embodiments, said DP3 fraction comprises from about 0.5% to about 10% of anhydro-subunit containing oligosaccharides by relative abundance.

[00403] In some embodiments, said DP3 fraction comprises from about 5% to about 10% of anhydrosubunit containing oligosaccharides by relative abundance.

[00404] In some embodiments, said oligosaccharide preparation comprises from about 2% to about 12% anhydro-subunit containing oligosaccharides by relative abundance.

[00405] In some embodiments, said oligosaccharide preparation comprises from about 0.5% to about 10% anhydro-subunit containing oligosaccharides by relative abundance.

[00406] In some embodiments, said oligosaccharide preparation comprises from about 1% to about 10% anhydro-subunit containing oligosaccharides by relative abundance.

[00407] In some embodiments, said oligosaccharide preparation comprises from about 5% to about 10% anhydro-subunit containing oligosaccharides by relative abundance.

[00408] In some embodiments, said DP2 fraction comprises greater than 0.6%, greater than 0.8%, greater than 1.0%, greater than 1.5%, greater than 2%, greater than 3%, greater than 4%, greater than 5%, greater than 6%, greater than 7%, greater than 8%, greater than 9%, greater than 10%, greater than 11%, or greater than 12% anhydro-subunit containing oligosaccharides by relative abundance.

[00409] In some embodiments, said DPI fraction comprises greater than 0.6%, greater than 0.8%, greater than 1.0%, greater than 1.5%, greater than 2%, greater than 3%, greater than 4%, greater than 5%, greater than 6%, greater than 7%, greater than 8%, greater than 9%, greater than 10%, greater than 11%, or greater than 12% anhydro-subunit containing oligosaccharides by relative abundance.

[00410] In some embodiments, said DP3 fraction comprises greater than 0.6%, greater than 0.8%, greater than 1.0%, greater than 1.5%, greater than 2%, greater than 3%, greater than 4%, greater than 5%, greater than 6%, greater than 7%, greater than 8%, greater than 9%, greater than 10%, greater than 11%, or greater than 12% anhydro-subunit containing oligosaccharides by relative abundance.

[00411] In some embodiments, said oligosaccharide preparation comprises greater than 0.5%, 0.6%, greater than 0.8%, greater than 1.0%, greater than 1.5%, greater than 2%, greater than 3%, greater than 4%, greater than 5%, greater than 6%, greater than 7%, greater than 8%, greater than 9%, greater than 10%, greater than 11%, or greater than 12% anhydro-subunit containing oligosaccharides by relative abundance.

[00412] In some embodiments, said oligosaccharide preparation has a DPI fraction content of from about 1% to about 40 % by weight as determined by liquid chromatography.

[00413] In some embodiments, said oligosaccharide preparation has a DP2 fraction content of from about 1% to about 35 % by weight as determined by liquid chromatography.

[00414] In some embodiments, said oligosaccharide preparation has a DP3 fraction content of from about 1% to about 30 % by weight as determined by liquid chromatography.

[00415] In some embodiments, said oligosaccharide preparation has a DP4 fraction content of from about 0.1% to about 20 % by weight as determined by liquid chromatography

[00416] In some embodiments, said oligosaccharide preparation has a DP5 fraction content of from about 0.1% to about 15 % by weight as determined by liquid chromatography.

[00417] In some embodiments, a ratio of the DP2 fraction to the DPI fraction is from about 0.02 to about 0.40 as determined by liquid chromatography.

[00418] In some embodiments, a ratio of the DP3 fraction to the DP2 fraction is from about 0.01 to about 0.30 as determined by liquid chromatography.

[00419] In some embodiments, an aggregate content of the DPI and the DP2 fractions in the oligosaccharide preparation is less than 50%, less than 40%, or less than 30% as determined by liquid chromatography.

[00420] In some embodiments, said oligosaccharide preparation comprises at least 103, at least 104, at least 105, at least 106 or at least 109 different oligosaccharide species. [00421 ] In some embodiments, two or more independent oligosaccharides comprise different anhydrosubunits.

[00422] In some embodiments, each of said anhydro-subunit containing oligosaccharides comprises one or more anhydro-subunits that are products of thermal dehydration of monosaccharides.

[00423] In some embodiments, said oligosaccharide preparation comprises one or more anhydrosubunits selected from anhydro-glucose, anhydro-galactose, anhydro-mannose, anhydro-allose, anhydro-altrose, anhydro-gulose, anhydro-indose, anhydro-talose, anhydro-fructose, anhydro-ribose, anhydro-arabinose, anhydro-rhamnose, anhydro-lyxose, and anhydro-xylose.

[00424] In some embodiments, said oligosaccharide preparation comprises one or more anhydroglucose, anhydro-galactose, anhydro-mannose, or anhydro-fructose subunits.

[00425] In some embodiments, said DPI fraction comprises 1,6-anhydro-P-D-glucofuranose or 1,6-anhydro-P-D-glucopyranose anhydro-subunits.

[00426] In some embodiments, said DPI fraction comprises both 1,6-anhydro-P-D-glucofuranose and 1,6-anhydro-P-D-glucopyranose anhydro-subunits.

[00427] In some embodiments, a ratio of the 1,6-anhydro-P-D-glucofuranose to the 1,6-anhydro-P-D-glucopyranose is from about 10:1 to 1:10, from about 9:1 to about 1:10, from about 8:1 to about 1:10, from about 7:1 to about 1:10, from about 6:1 to about 1:10, from about 5:1 to about 1:10, from about 4:1 to about 1:10, from about 3:1 to about 1:10, from about 2:1 to about 1:10, from about 10:1 to about 1:9, from about 10:1 to about 1:8, from about 10:1 to about 1:7, from about 10:1 to about 1:6, from about 10:1 to about 1:5, from about 10:1 to about 1:4, from about 10:1 to about 1:3, from about 10:1 to about 1:2, or from about 1:1 to about 3:1 in the oligosaccharide reparation.

[00428] In some embodiments, a ratio of the 1,6-anhydro-P-D-glucofuranose to the 1,6-anhydro-P-D-glucopyranose is about 10:1, about 9:1, about 8:1, about 7:1, about 6:1, about 5:1, about 4:1, about 3:1, about 2:1, about 1:1, about 1:2, about 1:3, about 1:4, about 1:5, about 1:6, about 1:7, about 1:8, about 1:9, or about 1:10 in the oligosaccharide preparation.

[00429] In some embodiments, a ratio of the 1,6-anhydro-P-D-glucofuranose to the 1,6-anhydro-P-D-glucopyranose is about 2:1 in the oligosaccharide preparation.

[00430] In some embodiments, said DP2 fraction comprises at least 5 species of anhydro-subunit containing oligosaccharides.

[00431] In some embodiments, said DP2 fraction comprises about 5 to 10 species of anhydro-subunit containing oligosaccharides.

[00432] In some embodiments, said oligosaccharide preparation comprises one or more sugar caramelization products. In some embodiments, said sugar caramelization products are selected from a group consisting of: methanol; ethanol; furan; methyl glyoxal; 2-methyl furan; vinyl acetate; glycolaldehyde; acetic acid; acetol; furfural; 2-furanmethanol; 3-furanmethanol; 2-hydroxy cyclopent-2-en-l-one; 5-methyl furfural; 2(5H)-furanone; 2 methyl cyclopentenol one; levoglucosenone; cyclic hydroxyl lactone; 1,4,3,6-dianhydro-a-D-glucopyranose; dianhydro glucopyranose; and 5-hydroxy methyl furfural (5-hmf).

[00433] In some embodiments, greater than 50%, 60%, 70%, 80%, 90%, 95%, or 99% of the anhydrosubunit containing oligosaccharides comprise a chain-end anhydro-subunit.

[00434] In some embodiments, said oligosaccharide preparation has a weight average molecular weight of from about 300 to about 5000 g / mol as determined by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC).

[00435] In some embodiments, said oligosaccharide preparation has a weight average molecular weight of from about 300 to about 2500 g / mol as determined by HPLC.

[00436] In some embodiments, said oligosaccharide preparation has a weight average molecular weight of from about 500 to about 2000 g / mol as determined by HPLC.

[00437] In some embodiments, said oligosaccharide preparation has a weight average molecular weight of from about 500 to about 1500 g / mol as determined by HPLC.

[00438] In some embodiments, said oligosaccharide preparation has a number average molecular weight of from about 300 to about 5000 g / mol as determined by HPLC.

[00439] In some embodiments, said oligosaccharide preparation has a number average molecular weight of from about 300 to about 2500 g / mol as determined by HPLC.

[00440] In some embodiments, said oligosaccharide preparation has a number average molecular weight of from about 500 to about 2000 g / mol as determined by HPLC.

[00441] In some embodiments, said oligosaccharide preparation has a number average molecular weight of from about 500 to about 1500 g / mol as determined by HPLC.

[00442] In some embodiments, said oligosaccharide preparation has a weight average molecular weight of from about 2000 to about 2800 g / mol.

[00443] In some embodiments, said oligosaccharide preparation has a number average molecular weight of from about 1000 to about 2000 g / mol.

[00444] In some embodiments, said nutritional composition comprising said synthetic oligosaccharide preparation is administered to said animal for at least 1, 7, 10, 14, 30, 45, 60, 90, or 120 days.

[00445] In some embodiments, said nutritional composition comprising said synthetic oligosaccharide preparation is administered to said animal at least once, twice, three, four, or five times a day.

[00446] In some embodiments, said administering comprises providing the nutritional composition to said animal to ingest at will.

[00447] In some embodiments, said animal ingests at least a portion of said nutritional composition in over at least 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 90, or 120 twenty-four-hour periods.

[00448] In some embodiments, said nutritional composition comprises at least lOOppm, 200ppm, 300ppm, 400ppm, 500ppm, 600ppm, 700ppm, 800ppm, 900ppm, lOOOppm, 1500ppm, or 2000ppm said synthetic oligosaccharide preparation.

[00449] In some embodiments, said nutritional composition comprises about lOOppm, 200ppm, 300ppm, 400ppm, 500ppm, 600ppm, 700ppm, 800ppm, 900ppm, lOOOppm, 1500ppm, or 2000ppm said synthetic oligosaccharide preparation. In some embodiments, said nutritional composition comprises about 500ppm said synthetic oligosaccharide preparation.

[00450] In some embodiments, said nutritional composition comprises from about lOOppm -2000ppm, lOOppm - 1500ppm, lOOppm - lOOOppm, lOOppm - 900ppm, lOOppm - 800ppm, lOOppm -700ppm, lOOppm - 600ppm, lOOppm - 500ppm, lOOppm - 400ppm, lOOppm - 300ppm, lOOppm -200ppm, 200ppm - lOOOppm, 200ppm - 800ppm, 200ppm - 700ppm, 200ppm - 600ppm, 200ppm - 500ppm, 300ppm - lOOOppm, 300ppm - 700ppm, 300ppm - 600ppm, or 300ppm - 500ppm said synthetic oligosaccharide preparation.

[00451] In some embodiments, said nutritional composition comprises from about 300ppm - 600ppm said synthetic oligosaccharide preparation.

[00452] In one aspect, provided herein are methods of improving energy metabolism in an animal, the methods comprising: administering a nutritional composition comprising a base nutritional composition and a synthetic oligosaccharide preparation to said animal, wherein said synthetic oligosaccharide preparation comprises at least n fractions of oligosaccharides each having a distinct degree of polymerization selected from 1 to n (DPI to DPn fractions), wherein n is an integer greater than 3; and wherein each of a DPI and DP2 fraction independently comprises from about 0.5% to about 15% of anhydro-subunit containing oligosaccharides by relative abundance as determined by mass spectrometry, and wherein the level of a plurality of metabolites associated with improved energy metabolism in a gastrointestinal sample from said animal is higher compared to a comparable control animal that has been administered a comparable nutritional composition comprising said base nutritional composition and lacking said synthetic oligosaccharide preparation.

[00453] In some embodiments, said plurality comprises at least 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, or 10 metabolites.

[00454] In some embodiments, said plurality comprises at least 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, or 10 metabolites selected from the group consisting of 2-oxoglutarate, fumarate, L-alanine, L-glutamate, oxaloacetate, propanoyl-CoA, pyruvate, and succinate.

[00455] In some embodiments, the level of said at least metabolite is at least about 0.5%, 1%, 2%, 3%, 4%, 5%, 10%, 15%, 20%, or 25% higher than the level in said gastrointestinal sample from a comparable control animal that has been administered a comparable nutritional composition comprising said base nutritional composition lacking said synthetic oligosaccharide preparation.

[00456] In some embodiments, the level of said at least metabolite is at least about 0.1 fold, 0.2 fold, 0.3 fold, 0.4 fold, 0.5 fold, 0.6 fold, 0.7 fold, 0.8 fold, 0.9 fold, 1 fold, 2 fold, 3 fold, 4 fold, 5 fold, 6 fold, 7 fold, 8 fold, 9 fold, or 10 fold higher than the level in said gastrointestinal sample from a comparable control animal that has been administered a comparable nutritional composition comprising said base nutritional composition lacking said synthetic oligosaccharide preparation.

[00457] In some embodiments, said gastrointestinal sample is a biopsy of a gastrointestinal tissue, a fecal sample, rumen fluid sample, or a cloacal swab.

[00458] In some embodiments, said gastrointestinal tissue is cecal tissue or ileum tissue.

[00459] In some embodiments, said nutritional composition comprising said synthetic oligosaccharide preparation is administered to said animal for at least 1, 7, 10, 14, 30, 45, 60, 90, or 120 days.

[00460] In some embodiments, said nutritional composition comprising said synthetic oligosaccharide preparation is administered to said animal at least once, twice, three, four, or five times a day.

[00461] In some embodiments, said administering comprises providing the nutritional composition to said animal to ingest at will.

[00462] In some embodiments, said animal ingests at least a portion of said nutritional composition in over at least 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 90, or 120 twenty-four-hour periods.

[00463] In some embodiments, said nutritional composition comprises at least lOOppm, 200ppm, 300ppm, 400ppm, 500ppm, 600ppm, 700ppm, 800ppm, 900ppm, lOOOppm, 1500ppm, or 2000ppm said synthetic oligosaccharide preparation.

[00464] In some embodiments, said nutritional composition comprises about lOOppm, 200ppm, 300ppm, 400ppm, 500ppm, 600ppm, 700ppm, 800ppm, 900ppm, lOOOppm, 1500ppm, or 2000ppm said synthetic oligosaccharide preparation.

[00465] In some embodiments, said nutritional composition comprises about 500ppm said synthetic oligosaccharide preparation.

[00466] In some embodiments, said nutritional composition comprises from about lOOppm -2000ppm, lOOppm - 1500ppm, lOOppm - lOOOppm, lOOppm - 900ppm, lOOppm - 800ppm, lOOppm -700ppm, lOOppm - 600ppm, lOOppm - 500ppm, lOOppm - 400ppm, lOOppm - 300ppm, lOOppm -200ppm, 200ppm - lOOOppm, 200ppm - 800ppm, 200ppm - 700ppm, 200ppm - 600ppm, 200ppm -500ppm, 300ppm - lOOOppm, 300ppm - 700ppm, 300ppm - 600ppm, or 300ppm - 500ppm said synthetic oligosaccharide preparation.

[00467] In some embodiments, said nutritional composition comprises from about 300ppm - 600ppm said synthetic oligosaccharide preparation.

[00468] In some embodiments, said animal has an increased body weight relative to a body weight of said animal prior to administration of said nutritional composition comprising said synthetic oligosaccharide preparation.

[00469] In some embodiments, said body weight of said animal is at least 1%, 2%, 3%, 4%, 5%, 5%, 7%, 8%, 9%, or 10% increased relative to said body weight of said animal prior to administration of said nutritional composition comprising said synthetic oligosaccharide preparation.

[00470] In some embodiments, said increase in body weight is a larger increase relative to a comparable control animal administered a comparable nutritional composition comprising said base nutritional composition lacking said synthetic oligosaccharide preparation.

[00471] In some embodiments, said body weight of said animal is at least 1%, 2%, 3%, 4%, 5%, 5%, 7%, 8%, 9%, or 10% increased relative to said body weight of said comparable control animal administered a comparable nutritional composition comprising said base nutritional composition lacking said synthetic oligosaccharide preparation.

[00472] In some embodiments, said animal has an increased feed efficiency relative to a feed efficiency of said animal prior to administration of said nutritional composition comprising said synthetic oligosaccharide preparation.

[00473] In some embodiments, said feed efficiency of said animal is at least 1%, 2%, 3%, 4%, 5%, 5%, 7%, 8%, 9%, or 10% increased relative to said feed efficiency of said animal prior to administration of said nutritional composition comprising said synthetic oligosaccharide preparation.

[00474] In some embodiments, said animal has said increase in feed efficiency is a larger increase relative to a comparable control animal administered a comparable nutritional composition comprising said base nutritional composition lacking said synthetic oligosaccharide preparation.

[00475] In some embodiments, said increase in feed efficiency of said animal is at least 1%, 2%, 3%, 4%, 5%, 5%, 7%, 8%, 9%, or 10% increased relative to said body weight of said comparable control animal administered a comparable nutritional composition comprising said base nutritional composition lacking said synthetic oligosaccharide preparation.

[00476] In some embodiments, said animal has a decreased feed conversion ratio (FCR) relative to an FCR of said animal prior to administration of said nutritional composition comprising said synthetic oligosaccharide preparation.

[00477] In some embodiments, said feed conversion ratio of said animal is at least 1%, 2%, 3%, 4%, 5%, 5%, 7%, 8%, 9%, or 10% decreased relative to the feed conversion ratio of said animal prior to administration of said nutritional composition comprising said synthetic oligosaccharide preparation.

[00478] In some embodiments, said animal has said decrease in feed conversion ratio is a larger decrease relative to a comparable control animal administered a comparable nutritional composition comprising said base nutritional composition lacking said synthetic oligosaccharide preparation.

[00479] In some embodiments, said feed conversion ratio of said animal is at least 1%, 2%, 3%, 4%, 5%, 5%, 7%, 8%, 9%, or 10% decreased relative to the feed conversion ratio of said comparable control animal administered a comparable nutritional composition comprising said base nutritional composition lacking said synthetic oligosaccharide preparation.

[00480] In some embodiments, a life expectancy or survival rate of said animal is increased relative to a comparable control animal that was administered a comparable nutritional composition comprising said base nutritional composition lacking said synthetic oligosaccharide preparation.

[00481] In some embodiments, administering results in at least one of a) improved nutrient absorption, b) improved mitochondrial function, c) improved liver function, d) improved kidney function, e) improved sociability, f) improved mood, g) improved energy, h) improved satiety; and i) improved alertness; each relative to an animal administered a nutrition composition lacking said synthetic oligosaccharide preparation.

[00482] In some embodiments, administering results in at least one of a) improved nutrient absorption, b) improved mitochondrial function, c) improved liver function, d) improved kidney function, e) improved sociability, f) improved mood, g) improved energy, h) improved satiety; and i) improved alertness; each relative to said animal prior to administration of said synthetic oligosaccharide preparation.

[00483] In some embodiments, administering results in improved quality of meat derived from said animal relative to an animal administered a nutrition composition lacking said synthetic oligosaccharide preparation.

[00484] In some embodiments, administering results in at least one of a) enhanced color of the animal meat, b) enhanced flavor of the animal meat, and c) enhanced tenderness of the animal meat.

[00485] In some embodiments, said animal is a poultry, seafood, sheep, cow, cattle, buffalo, bison, pig, cat, dog, rabbit, goat, guinea pig, donkey, camel, horse, pigeon, ferret, gerbil, hamster, mouse, rat, fish, or bird.

[00486] In some embodiments, said animal is a poultry. In some embodiments, said poultry is a chicken, turkey, duck, or goose. In some embodiments, said poultry is a chicken. In some embodiments, said chicken is a broiler chicken, a layer chicken, or a breeder chicken.

[00487] In some embodiments, the animal is a pig. In some embodiments, said pig is a nursery pig, a grower pig, or a finisher pig.

[00488] In some embodiments, said animal is a fish. In some embodiments, said fish is a salmon, a tilapia, or a tropical fish.

[00489] In some embodiments, said animal is a livestock animal.

[00490] In some embodiments, said animal is a companion animal. In some embodiments, said companion animal is a cat, dog, hamster, rabbit, guinea pig, ferret, gerbil, bird, or mouse.

[00491] In some embodiments, said relative abundance of oligosaccharides in at least 5, 10, 20, or 30 DP fractions decreases monotonically with its degree of polymerization.

[00492] In some embodiments, said relative abundance of oligosaccharides in each of the n fractions decreases monotonically with its degree of polymerization. In some embodiments, n is at least 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87, 88, 89, 90, 91, 92, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98, 99, or 100.

[00493] In some embodiments, said DP2 fraction comprises less than 12%, less than 11%, less than 10%, less than 9%, less than 8%, less than 7%, less than 6%, less than 5%, less than 4%, less than 3%, less than 2%, or less than 1% anhydro-subunit containing oligosaccharides by relative abundance.

[00494] In some embodiments, said DP2 fraction comprises from about 5% to about 10% of anhydrosubunit containing oligosaccharides by relative abundance.

[00495] In some embodiments, said DP2 fraction comprises from about 1% to about 10% of anhydrosubunit containing oligosaccharides by relative abundance.

[00496] In some embodiments, said DP2 fraction comprises from about 0.5% to about 10% of anhydro-subunit containing oligosaccharides by relative abundance.

[00497] In some embodiments, said DP2 fraction comprises from about 2% to about 12% of anhydrosubunit containing oligosaccharides by relative abundance.

[00498] In some embodiments, said DPI fraction comprises less than 12%, less than 11%, less than 10%, less than 9%, less than 8%, less than 7%, less than 6%, less than 5%, less than 4%, less than 3%, less than 2%, or less than 1% anhydro-subunit containing oligosaccharides by relative abundance.

[00499] In some embodiments, said DPI fraction comprises from about 2% to about 12% of anhydrosubunit containing oligosaccharides by relative abundance.

[00500] In some embodiments, said DPI fraction comprises from about 1% to about 10% of anhydrosubunit containing oligosaccharides by relative abundance.

[00501] In some embodiments, said DPI fraction comprises from about 0.5% to about 10% of anhydro-subunit containing oligosaccharides by relative abundance.

[00502] In some embodiments, said DPI fraction comprises from about 5% to about 10% of anhydrosubunit containing oligosaccharides by relative abundance.

[00503] In some embodiments, said DP3 fraction comprises less than 15%, less than 12%, less than 11%, less than 10%, less than 9%, less than 8%, less than 7%, less than 6%, less than 5%, less than 4%, less than 3%, less than 2%, or less than 1% anhydro-subunit containing oligosaccharides by relative abundance.

[00504] In some embodiments, said DP3 fraction comprises from about 2% to about 12% of anhydrosubunit containing oligosaccharides by relative abundance.

[00505] In some embodiments, said DP3 fraction comprises from about 1% to about 10% of anhydrosubunit containing oligosaccharides by relative abundance.

[00506] In some embodiments, said DP3 fraction comprises from about 0.5% to about 10% of anhydro-subunit containing oligosaccharides by relative abundance.

[00507] In some embodiments, said DP3 fraction comprises from about 5% to about 10% of anhydrosubunit containing oligosaccharides by relative abundance.

[00508] In some embodiments, said oligosaccharide preparation comprises from about 2% to about 12% anhydro-subunit containing oligosaccharides by relative abundance.

[00509] In some embodiments, said oligosaccharide preparation comprises from about 0.5% to about 10% anhydro-subunit containing oligosaccharides by relative abundance.

[00510] In some embodiments, said oligosaccharide preparation comprises from about 1% to about 10% anhydro-subunit containing oligosaccharides by relative abundance.

[00511] In some embodiments, said oligosaccharide preparation comprises from about 5% to about 10% anhydro-subunit containing oligosaccharides by relative abundance.

[00512] In some embodiments, said DP2 fraction comprises greater than 0.6%, greater than 0.8%, greater than 1.0%, greater than 1.5%, greater than 2%, greater than 3%, greater than 4%, greater than 5%, greater than 6%, greater than 7%, greater than 8%, greater than 9%, greater than 10%, greater than 11%, or greater than 12% anhydro-subunit containing oligosaccharides by relative abundance.

[00513] In some embodiments, said DPI fraction comprises greater than 0.6%, greater than 0.8%, greater than 1.0%, greater than 1.5%, greater than 2%, greater than 3%, greater than 4%, greater than 5%, greater than 6%, greater than 7%, greater than 8%, greater than 9%, greater than 10%, greater than 11%, or greater than 12% anhydro-subunit containing oligosaccharides by relative abundance.

[00514] In some embodiments, said DP3 fraction comprises greater than 0.6%, greater than 0.8%, greater than 1.0%, greater than 1.5%, greater than 2%, greater than 3%, greater than 4%, greater than 5%, greater than 6%, greater than 7%, greater than 8%, greater than 9%, greater than 10%, greater than 11%, or greater than 12% anhydro-subunit containing oligosaccharides by relative abundance.

[00515] In some embodiments, said oligosaccharide preparation comprises greater than 0.5%, 0.6%, greater than 0.8%, greater than 1.0%, greater than 1.5%, greater than 2%, greater than 3%, greater than 4%, greater than 5%, greater than 6%, greater than 7%, greater than 8%, greater than 9%, greater than 10%, greater than 11%, or greater than 12% anhydro-subunit containing oligosaccharides by relative abundance.

[00516] In some embodiments, said oligosaccharide preparation has a DPI fraction content of from about 1% to about 40 % by weight as determined by liquid chromatography.

[00517] In some embodiments, said oligosaccharide preparation has a DP2 fraction content of from about 1% to about 35 % by weight as determined by liquid chromatography.

[00518] In some embodiments, said oligosaccharide preparation has a DP3 fraction content of from about 1% to about 30 % by weight as determined by liquid chromatography.

[00519] In some embodiments, said oligosaccharide preparation has a DP4 fraction content of from about 0.1% to about 20 % by weight as determined by liquid chromatography

[00520] In some embodiments, said oligosaccharide preparation has a DP5 fraction content of from about 0.1% to about 15 % by weight as determined by liquid chromatography.

[00521] In some embodiments, a ratio of the DP2 fraction to the DPI fraction is from about 0.02 to about 0.40 as determined by liquid chromatography.

[00522] In some embodiments, a ratio of the DP3 fraction to the DP2 fraction is from about 0.01 to about 0.30 as determined by liquid chromatography.

[00523] In some embodiments, an aggregate content of the DPI and the DP2 fractions in the oligosaccharide preparation is less than 50%, less than 40%, or less than 30% as determined by liquid chromatography.

[00524] In some embodiments, said oligosaccharide preparation comprises at least 103, at least 104, at least 105, at least 106 or at least 109 different oligosaccharide species.

[00525] In some embodiments, two or more independent oligosaccharides comprise different anhydrosubunits.

[00526] In some embodiments, each of said anhydro-subunit containing oligosaccharides comprises one or more anhydro-subunits that are products of thermal dehydration of monosaccharides.

[00527] In some embodiments, said oligosaccharide preparation comprises one or more anhydrosubunits selected from anhydro-glucose, anhydro-galactose, anhydro-mannose, anhydro-allose, anhydro-altrose, anhydro-gulose, anhydro-indose, anhydro-talose, anhydro-fructose, anhydro-ribose, anhydro-arabinose, anhydro-rhamnose, anhydro-lyxose, and anhydro-xylose.

[00528] In some embodiments, said oligosaccharide preparation comprises one or more anhydroglucose, anhydro-galactose, anhydro-mannose, or anhydro-fructose subunits.

[00529] In some embodiments, said DPI fraction comprises 1,6-anhydro-P-D-glucofuranose or 1,6-anhydro-P-D-glucopyranose anhydro-subunits.

[00530] In some embodiments, said DPI fraction comprises both 1,6-anhydro-P-D-glucofuranose and 1,6-anhydro-P-D-glucopyranose anhydro-subunits.

[00531] In some embodiments, a ratio of the 1,6-anhydro-P-D-glucofuranose to the 1,6-anhydro-P-D-glucopyranose is from about 10:1 to 1:10, from about 9:1 to about 1:10, from about 8:1 to about 1:10, from about 7:1 to about 1:10, from about 6:1 to about 1:10, from about 5:1 to about 1:10, from about 4:1 to about 1:10, from about 3:1 to about 1:10, from about 2:1 to about 1:10, from about 10:1 to about 1:9, from about 10:1 to about 1:8, from about 10:1 to about 1:7, from about 10:1 to about 1:6, from about 10:1 to about 1:5, from about 10:1 to about 1:4, from about 10:1 to about 1:3, from about 10:1 to about 1:2, or from about 1:1 to about 3:1 in the oligosaccharide reparation.

[00532] In some embodiments, a ratio of the 1,6-anhydro-P-D-glucofuranose to the 1,6-anhydro-P-D-glucopyranose is about 10:1, about 9:1, about 8:1, about 7:1, about 6:1, about 5:1, about 4:1, about 3:1, about 2:1, about 1:1, about 1:2, about 1:3, about 1:4, about 1:5, about 1:6, about 1:7, about 1:8, about 1:9, or about 1:10 in the oligosaccharide preparation.

[00533] In some embodiments, a ratio of the 1,6-anhydro-P-D-glucofuranose to the 1,6-anhydro-P-D-glucopyranose is about 2:1 in the oligosaccharide preparation.

[00534] In some embodiments, said DP2 fraction comprises at least 5 species of anhydro-subunit containing oligosaccharides.

[00535] In some embodiments, said DP2 fraction comprises about 5 to 10 species of anhydro-subunit containing oligosaccharides.

[00536] In some embodiments, said oligosaccharide preparation comprises one or more sugar caramelization products. In some embodiments, said sugar caramelization products are selected from a group consisting of: methanol; ethanol; furan; methyl glyoxal; 2-methyl furan; vinyl acetate; glycolaldehyde; acetic acid; acetol; furfural; 2-furanmethanol; 3-furanmethanol; 2-hydroxy cyclopent-2-en-l-one; 5-methyl furfural; 2(5H)-furanone; 2 methyl cyclopentenol one; levoglucosenone; cyclic hydroxyl lactone; 1,4,3,6-dianhydro-a-D-glucopyranose; dianhydro glucopyranose; and 5-hydroxy methyl furfural (5-hmf).

[00537] In some embodiments, greater than 50%, 60%, 70%, 80%, 90%, 95%, or 99% of the anhydrosubunit containing oligosaccharides comprise a chain-end anhydro-subunit.

[00538] In some embodiments, said oligosaccharide preparation has a weight average molecular weight of from about 300 to about 5000 g / mol as determined by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC).

[00539] In some embodiments, said oligosaccharide preparation has a weight average molecular weight of from about 300 to about 2500 g / mol as determined by HPLC.

[00540] In some embodiments, said oligosaccharide preparation has a weight average molecular weight of from about 500 to about 2000 g / mol as determined by HPLC.

[00541] In some embodiments, said oligosaccharide preparation has a weight average molecular weight of from about 500 to about 1500 g / mol as determined by HPLC.

[00542] In some embodiments, said oligosaccharide preparation has a number average molecular weight of from about 300 to about 5000 g / mol as determined by HPLC.

[00543] In some embodiments, said oligosaccharide preparation has a number average molecular weight of from about 300 to about 2500 g / mol as determined by HPLC.

[00544] In some embodiments, said oligosaccharide preparation has a number average molecular weight of from about 500 to about 2000 g / mol as determined by HPLC.

[00545] In some embodiments, said oligosaccharide preparation has a number average molecular weight of from about 500 to about 1500 g / mol as determined by HPLC.

[00546] In some embodiments, said oligosaccharide preparation has a weight average molecular weight of from about 2000 to about 2800 g / mol.

[00547] In some embodiments, said oligosaccharide preparation has a number average molecular weight of from about 1000 to about 2000 g / mol.

[00548] In some embodiments, said nutritional composition comprising said synthetic oligosaccharide preparation is administered to said animal for at least 1, 7, 10, 14, 30, 45, 60, 90, or 120 days.

[00549] In some embodiments, said nutritional composition comprising said synthetic oligosaccharide preparation is administered to said animal at least once, twice, three, four, or five times a day.

[00550] In some embodiments, said administering comprises providing the nutritional composition to said animal to ingest at will.

[00551] In some embodiments, said animal ingests at least a portion of said nutritional composition in over at least 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 90, or 120 twenty-four-hour periods.

[00552] In some embodiments, said nutritional composition comprises at least lOOppm, 200ppm, 300ppm, 400ppm, 500ppm, 600ppm, 700ppm, 800ppm, 900ppm, lOOOppm, 1500ppm, or 2000ppm said synthetic oligosaccharide preparation.

[00553] In some embodiments, said nutritional composition comprises about lOOppm, 200ppm, 300ppm, 400ppm, 500ppm, 600ppm, 700ppm, 800ppm, 900ppm, lOOOppm, 1500ppm, or 2000ppm said synthetic oligosaccharide preparation. In some embodiments, said nutritional composition comprises about 500ppm said synthetic oligosaccharide preparation.

[00554] In some embodiments, said nutritional composition comprises from about lOOppm -2000ppm, lOOppm - 1500ppm, lOOppm - lOOOppm, lOOppm - 900ppm, lOOppm - 800ppm, lOOppm -700ppm, lOOppm - 600ppm, lOOppm - 500ppm, lOOppm - 400ppm, lOOppm - 300ppm, lOOppm -200ppm, 200ppm - lOOOppm, 200ppm - 800ppm, 200ppm - 700ppm, 200ppm - 600ppm, 200ppm -500ppm, 300ppm - lOOOppm, 300ppm - 700ppm, 300ppm - 600ppm, or 300ppm - 500ppm said synthetic oligosaccharide preparation.

[00555] In some embodiments, said nutritional composition comprises from about 300ppm - 600ppm said synthetic oligosaccharide preparation.

[00556] In one aspect, the disclosure provides a method of enhancing anti-microbial and / or antiinflammation response in an animal, the method comprising: administering a nutritional composition comprising a base nutritional composition and a synthetic oligosaccharide preparation to said animal, wherein said synthetic oligosaccharide preparation comprises at least n fractions of oligosaccharides each having a distinct degree of polymerization selected from 1 to n (DPI to DPn fractions), wherein n is an integer greater than 3; and wherein each of a DPI and DP2 fraction independently comprises from about 0.5% to about 15% of anhydro-subunit containing oligosaccharides by relative abundance 2021236325   20 Aug 2026 as determined by mass spectrometry, and wherein the level of a metabolite associated with enhanced anti-microbial and anti-inflammation response in a gastrointestinal sample from said animal is higher compared to a comparable control animal that has been administered a comparable nutritional composition comprising said base nutritional composition and lacking said synthetic oligosaccharide preparation.

[00557] In some embodiments, the metabolite is itaconate.

[00558] In some embodiments, the level of said metabolite is at least about 0.5%, 1%, 2%, 3%, 4%, 5%, 10%, 15%, 20%, or 25% higher than the level in said gastrointestinal sample from a comparable control animal that has been administered a comparable nutritional composition comprising said base nutritional composition lacking said synthetic oligosaccharide preparation.

[00559] In some embodiments, the level of said metabolite is at least about 0.1 fold, 0.2 fold, 0.3 fold, 0.4 fold, 0.5 fold, 0.6 fold, 0.7 fold, 0.8 fold, 0.9 fold, 1 fold, 2 fold, 3 fold, 4 fold, or 5 fold, higher than the level in said gastrointestinal sample from a comparable control animal that has been administered a comparable nutritional composition comprising said base nutritional composition lacking said synthetic oligosaccharide preparation.

[00560] In some embodiments, the gastrointestinal sample is a biopsy of a gastrointestinal tissue, a fecal sample, rumen fluid sample, or a cloacal swab.

[00561] In some embodiments, the gastrointestinal tissue is cecal tissue or ileum tissue.

[00562] In some embodiments, the nutritional composition comprising said synthetic oligosaccharide preparation is administered to said animal for at least 1, 7, 10, 14, 30, 45, 60, 90, or 120 days.

[00563] In some embodiments, the nutritional composition comprising said synthetic oligosaccharide preparation is administered to said animal at least once, twice, three, four, or five times a day.

[00564] In some embodiment, administering comprises providing the nutritional composition to said animal to ingest at will.

[00565] In some embodiments, the animal ingests at least a portion of said nutritional composition in over at least 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 90, or 120 twenty-four-hour periods.

[00566] In some embodiments, the nutritional composition comprises at least 100ppm, 200ppm, 300ppm, 400ppm, 500ppm, 600ppm, 700ppm, 800ppm, 900ppm, 1000ppm, 1500ppm, or 2000ppm said synthetic oligosaccharide preparation. [00566a] The present invention provides a method of improving nitrogen utilization in an animal, the method comprising: administering a nutritional composition comprising a base nutritional composition and a synthetic oligosaccharide preparation to said animal, wherein said synthetic oligosaccharide preparation comprises at least n fractions of oligosaccharides each having a distinct degree of polymerization selected from 1 to n (DP1 to DPn fractions), wherein n is an integer greater 2021236325   20 Aug 2026 than 3; and wherein each of a DP1 and DP2 fraction independently comprises from about 0.5% to about 15% of anhydro-subunit containing oligosaccharides by relative abundance as determined by mass spectrometry; wherein a level of a plurality of metabolites associated with enhanced nitrogen utilization is higher in a gastrointestinal sample from said animal compared to a gastrointestinal sample from a comparable control animal that has been administered a comparable nutritional composition comprising said base nutritional composition and lacking said synthetic oligosaccharide preparation, and wherein said plurality comprises at least 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, or 10 metabolites, preferably wherein said plurality of metabolites comprises at least 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, or 10 metabolites selected from the group consisting of (2S, 3S)-3-methylaspartate, (R)-3-(phenyl)lactate, (R)-3-(phenyl)lactoyl-CoA, (S)-3-aminobutanoyl-CoA, 2-oxoglutarate, 3-(4-hydroxyphenyl)pyruvate, 4-aminobutanal, 4-aminobutanoate, 4-guanidinobutanoate, 4-guanidinobutyraldehyde, 4-guanidobutryamide, 4-maleyl-acetoacetate, 5-aminopentanal, 5-aminopentanoate, 5-guanidino-2-oxopentanoate, Agmatine, Ammonia, Cadaverine, Cinnamate, cinnamoyl-CoA, coenzyme_A, formamide, homogentisate, L-beta-lysine, L-cystathionine, L-glutamate, L-glutamate-5-semialdehyde, L-histidine, L-homocysteine, L-lysine, L-methionine, L-ornithine, L-proline, L-serine, Mesaconate, N-carbamoylputrescine, N-formimino-L-glutamate, N2-succinyl-L-arginine, Pyruvate, succincate_semialdehyde, succinyl-CoA, or urea. [00566b] The present invention additionally provides a method of improving nitrogen utilization in an animal, the method comprising: administering a nutritional composition comprising a base nutritional composition and a synthetic oligosaccharide preparation to said animal, wherein said synthetic oligosaccharide preparation comprises at least n fractions of oligosaccharides each having a distinct degree of polymerization selected from 1 to n (DP1 to DPn fractions), wherein n is an integer greater than 3; and wherein each of a DP1 and DP2 fraction independently comprises from about 0.5% to about 15% of anhydro-subunit containing oligosaccharides by relative abundance as determined by mass spectrometry; wherein a level of a plurality of metabolites associated with diminished nitrogen utilization is lower in a gastrointestinal sample from said animal compared to a gastrointestinal sample from a comparable control animal that has been administered a comparable nutritional composition comprising said base nutritional composition and lacking said synthetic oligosaccharide preparation; and wherein said plurality comprises at least 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, or 10 metabolites, preferably wherein said plurality comprises at least 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, or 10 metabolites selected from the group consisting of (3S,5S)-3,5-diaminohexanoate, (S)-3-methyl-2-oxopentanoate, (S)-5-amino-3-oxohexanoate, 2-oxoglutarate, acetyl-CoA, ammonia, D-alanine, Formate, Fumarate, Glycine, L-2-amino-3-oxobutanoate, L-alanine, L-asparagine, L-aspartate, L- 2021236325   20 Aug 2026 glutamate, L-isoleucine, N-formimino-L-glutamate, N-formyl-L-glutamate, N2-succinylglutamate, and Pyruvate. [00566c] The present invention further provides a method of diminishing adverse amino acid degradation in an animal, the method comprising: administering a nutritional composition comprising a base nutritional composition and a synthetic oligosaccharide preparation to said animal, wherein said synthetic oligosaccharide preparation comprises at least n fractions of oligosaccharides each having a distinct degree of polymerization selected from 1 to n (DP1 to DPn fractions), wherein n is an integer greater than 3; and wherein each of a DP1 and DP2 fraction independently comprises from about 0.5% to about 15% of anhydro-subunit containing oligosaccharides by relative abundance as determined by mass spectrometry; wherein the level of a plurality of metabolites associated with amino acid degradation is lower in a gastrointestinal sample from said animal compared to a gastrointestinal sample from a comparable control animal that has been administered a comparable nutritional composition comprising said base nutritional composition and lacking said synthetic oligosaccharide preparation; and wherein said plurality comprises at least 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, or 10 metabolites, preferably wherein said plurality comprises at least 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, or 10 metabolites selected from the group consisting of (3S,5S)-3,5-diaminohexanoate, (S)-3-methyl-2-oxopentanoate, (S)-5-amino-3-oxohexanoate, 2-oxoglutarate, acetyl-CoA, ammonia, D-alanine, Formate, Fumarate, Glycine, L-2-amino-3-oxobutanoate, L-alanine, L-asparagine, L-aspartate, L-glutamate, L-isoleucine, N-formimino-L-glutamate, N-formyl-L-glutamate, N2-succinylglutamate, and Pyruvate. [00566d] The present invention further provides a method of improving carbon utilization in an animal, the method comprising: administering a nutritional composition comprising a base nutritional composition and a synthetic oligosaccharide preparation to said animal, wherein said synthetic oligosaccharide preparation comprises at least n fractions of oligosaccharides each having a distinct degree of polymerization selected from 1 to n (DP1 to DPn fractions), wherein n is an integer greater than 3; and wherein each of a DP1 and DP2 fraction independently comprises from about 0.5% to about 15% of anhydro-subunit containing oligosaccharides by relative abundance as determined by mass spectrometry, wherein the level of a plurality of metabolites associated with improved carbon utilization in a gastrointestinal sample from said animal is higher compared to a comparable control animal that has been administered a comparable nutritional composition comprising said base nutritional composition and lacking said synthetic oligosaccharide preparation,, wherein said plurality comprises at least 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, or 10 metabolites, preferably wherein said plurality comprises at least 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, or 10 metabolites selected from the group consisting 2021236325   20 Aug 2026 of (R)-lactate, (R)-lactoyl-CoA, (S)-lactate, (S)-propane-1,2,-diol, 1-propanal, acetate, acetyl-CoA, acryloyl-CoA, propanoate, propanoyl-CoA, and pyruvate. [00566e] The present invention further provides a method of improving energy metabolism in an animal, the method comprising: administering a nutritional composition comprising a base nutritional composition and a synthetic oligosaccharide preparation to said animal, wherein said synthetic oligosaccharide preparation comprises at least n fractions of oligosaccharides each having a distinct degree of polymerization selected from 1 to n (DP1 to DPn fractions), wherein n is an integer greater than 3; and wherein each of a DP1 and DP2 fraction independently comprises from about 0.5% to about 15% of anhydro-subunit containing oligosaccharides by relative abundance as determined by mass spectrometry, and wherein the level of a plurality of metabolites associated with improved energy metabolism in a gastrointestinal sample from said animal is higher compared to a comparable control animal that has been administered a comparable nutritional composition comprising said base nutritional composition and lacking said synthetic oligosaccharide preparation, wherein said plurality comprises at least 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, or 10 metabolites, preferably wherein said plurality comprises at least 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, or 10 metabolites selected from the group consisting of 2-oxoglutarate, fumarate, L-alanine, L-glutamate, oxaloacetate, propanoy4 l-CoA, pyruvate, and succinate. [00566f] The present invention further provides use of a base nutritional composition and a synthetic oligosaccharide preparation in the manufacture of a nutritional composition for the improvement of nitrogen utilization in an animal, wherein said synthetic oligosaccharide preparation comprises at least n fractions of oligosaccharides each having a distinct degree of polymerization selected from 1 to n (DP1 to DPn fractions), wherein n is an integer greater than 3; and wherein each of a DP1 and DP2 fraction independently comprises from about 0.5% to about 15% of anhydro-subunit containing oligosaccharides by relative abundance as determined by mass spectrometry; wherein a level of a plurality of metabolites associated with enhanced nitrogen utilization is higher in a gastrointestinal sample from said animal compared to a gastrointestinal sample from a comparable control animal that has been administered a comparable nutritional composition comprising said base nutritional composition and lacking said synthetic oligosaccharide preparation, and wherein said plurality comprises at least 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, or 10 metabolites, preferably wherein said plurality of metabolites comprises at least 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, or 10 metabolites selected from the group consisting of (2S, 3S)-3-methylaspartate, ®-3-(phenyl)lactate, ®-3-(phenyl)lactoyl-CoA, (S)-3-aminobutanoyl-CoA, 2-oxoglutarate, 3-(4-hydroxyphenyl)pyruvate, 4-aminobutanal, 4-aminobutanoate, 4-guanidinobutanoate, 4-guanidinobutyraldehyde, 4-guanidobutryamide, 4-maleyl-acetoacetate, 5-aminopentanal, 5-aminopentanoate, 5-guanidino-2-oxopentanoate, Agmatine, 2021236325   20 Aug 2026 Ammonia, Cadaverine, Cinnamate, cinnamoyl-CoA, coenzyme_A, formamide, homogentisate, L-beta-lysine, L-cystathionine, L-glutamate, L-glutamate-5-semialdehyde, L-histidine, L-homocysteine, L-lysine, L-methionine, L-ornithine, L-proline, L-serine, Mesaconate, N-carbamoylputrescine, N-formimino-L-glutamate, N2-succinyl-L-arginine, Pyruvate, uccinate_semialdehyde, succinyl-CoA, or urea INCORPORATION BY REFERENCE

[00567] All publications, patents, and patent applications mentioned in this specification are herein incorporated by reference to the same extent as if each individual publication, patent, or patent application was specifically and individually indicated to be incorporated by reference. To the extent publications and patents or patent applications incorporated by reference contradict the disclosure contained in the specification, the specification is intended to supersede and / or take precedence over any such contradictory material. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[00568] The novel features of the invention are set forth with particularity in the appended claims. A better understanding of the features and advantages of the present invention will be obtained by reference to the following detailed description that sets forth illustrative embodiments, in which the principles of the invention are utilized, and the accompanying drawing (also “figure” and “FIG.” herein), of which:

[00569] FIG. 1 shows part of a 'H, 13C- HSQC NMR spectrum of oligosaccharide preparation 9.2.

[00570] FIG. 2 illustrates a MALDI-MS spectrum of an oligosaccharide preparation from Example 9.7 that demonstrates the presence of anhydro-subunits.

[00571] FIG. 3 shows a ID 'H NMR spectrum of the anhydro-DPl component of an oligosaccharide preparation of Example 9.

[00572] FIG. 4 shows a ID APT 13C- NMR spectrum of an anhydro-DPl component of an oligosaccharide preparation of Example 9.

[00573] FIG. 5 illustrates an enlargement of the GC-MS chromatogram (TIC and XIC (m / z 229) plots) for the oligosaccharide preparation of Example 2.9 following derivatization.

[00574] FIG. 6 illustrates a 'H, 13C- HSQC spectrum of an oligosaccharide preparation with a caramelization anhydro-subunit.

[00575] FIG. 7 shows a part of a MALDI-MS spectrum comparing an oligosaccharide preparation of Example 9 at different laser energies.

[00576] FIG. 8A illustrates LC-MS / MS detection of the anhydro DP2 species at concentration of 1 -80 pg / mL of an oligosaccharide preparation of Example 9 in water. FIG. 8B shows a linear calibration curve resulting from the LC-MS / MS detection of FIG. 8 A.

[00577] FIG. 9 illustrates the quantification of the anhdro-DP2 content of various control and treated diet compositions.

[00578] FIG. 10 illustrates a 2D-'H JRES NMR spectrum of an anhydro-subunit containing glucooligosaccharides sample.

[00579] FIG. 11 is a representative 'H, 13C- HSQC NMR spectrum of an anhydro-subunit containing gluco-oligosaccharides sample with relevant resonances and assignments used for linkage distribution.

[00580] FIG. 12 illustrates an overlay of XH DOSY spectra of three anhydro-subunit containing oligosaccharides.

[00581] FIG. 13 illustrates a comparison of 1,6-Anhydro-B-D-glucose (DP1-18), 1,6-Anhydro-B-D-celobiose (DP2-18), and an anhydro-subunit containing oligosaccharides sample.

[00582] FIG. 14 illustrates mass chromatograms of anhydro-subunit containing oligosaccharides (top) and digested anhydro-subunit containing oligosaccharides (bottom) at selected MRMs.

[00583] FIG. 15 shows a graph of the relative abundance versus degree of polymerization (DP) of an oligosaccharide of Example 9. The graph shows the oligosaccharide preparation has monotonically decreasing DP distribution.

[00584] FIG. 16 shows a graph of the relative abundance versus degree of polymerization of an oligosaccharide of Example 9. The graph shows the oligosaccharide preparation has non-monotonically decreasing DP distribution.

[00585] FIG. 17 shows a dose-dependent improvement in litter quality for broilers fed an oligosaccharide preparation of Example 9, with a statistically significant (P < 0.05) improvement in litter quality versus control at 500 ppm.

[00586] FIG. 18 shows a dose-dependent reduction in footpad dermatitis (lesion scoring) for broilers fed an oligosaccharide preparation of Example 9, with a statistically significant (P < 0.05) improvement in footpad welfare versus control at 500 ppm.

[00587] FIG. 19 shows a dose-dependent improvement in bird mobility as measured by average gate score for broilers fed an oligosaccharide preparation of Example 9, with statistically significant (P < 0.05) improvements in welfare versus control at both 250 and 500 ppm dose levels.

[00588] FIG. 20 shows the metabolic network used for the microbiome pathway analysis of Example 40, with edges nl - nl43 corresponding to metabolites (and intermediates) and edges RI -R-256 corresponding to biochemical reactions capable of transforming one metabolites (or intermediate) to another according to reactions with the E.C. numbers in Table 18.

[00589] FIG. 21 illustrates two DPI and one DP2 anhydro-subunit containing oligosaccharides.

[00590] FIG. 22 illustrates an anhydro-subunit containing oligosaccharide (cellotriosan).

[00591] FIG. 23A illustrate aMALDI-MS spectrum of an oligosaccharide preparation from Example 2 that demonstrates the presence of anhydro-subunits. FIG. 23B illustrates a MALDI-MS spectrum of an oligosaccharide preparation from Example 2 that demonstrates the presence of anhydro-subunits.

[00592] FIG. 24A illustrates LC-MS / MS detection of the anhydro DP2, anhydro DPI, and DP2 species of an oligosaccharide preparation of Example 1. FIG. 24B illustrates LC-MS / MS detection of the anhydro DP2, anhydro DPI, and DP2 species of an oligosaccharide preparation of Example 1. FIG. 24C illustrates LC-MS / MS detection of the anhydro DP2, anhydro DPI, and DP2 species of an oligosaccharide preparation of Example 1.

[00593] FIG. 25A illustrates LC-MS / MS detection of the anhydro DP2, anhydro DPI, and DP2 species of an oligosaccharide preparation of Example 3. FIG. 25B illustrates LC-MS / MS detection of the anhydro DP2, anhydro DPI, and DP2 species of an oligosaccharide preparation of Example 3. FIG. 25C illustrates LC-MS / MS detection of the anhydro DP2, anhydro DPI, and DP2 species of an oligosaccharide preparation of Example 3.

[00594] FIG. 26A illustrate LC-MS / MS detection of the anhydro DP2, anhydro DPI, and DP2 species of an oligosaccharide preparation of Example 4. FIG. 26B illustrate LC-MS / MS detection of the anhydro DP2, anhydro DPI, and DP2 species of an oligosaccharide preparation of Example 4. FIG. 26C illustrate LC-MS / MS detection of the anhydro DP2, anhydro DPI, and DP2 species of an oligosaccharide preparation of Example 4.

[00595] FIG. 27A illustrate LC-MS / MS detection of the anhydro DP2, anhydro DPI, and DP2 species of an oligosaccharide preparation of Example 7. FIG. 27B illustrate LC-MS / MS detection of the anhydro DP2, anhydro DPI, and DP2 species of an oligosaccharide preparation of Example 7. FIG. 27C illustrate LC-MS / MS detection of the anhydro DP2, anhydro DPI, and DP2 species of an oligosaccharide preparation of Example 7.

[00596] FIG. 28A illustrates GC-MS spectrum detection of the DPI, anhydro DPI, DP2 and anhydro DP2 fractions of an oligosaccharide preparation of Example 1. FIG. 28B illustrates an enlargement of the DP2 and anhydro DP 2 fractions as shown in FIG. 28A.

[00597] FIG. 29A illustrates GC-MS spectrum detection of the DPI, anhydro DPI, DP2 and anhydro DP2 fractions of an oligosaccharide preparation of Example 3. FIG. 29B illustrates an enlargement of the DP2 and anhydro DP 2 fractions as shown in FIG. 29A.

[00598] FIG. 30A illustrates GC-MS spectrum detection of the DPI, anhydro DPI, DP2 and anhydro DP2 fractions of an oligosaccharide preparation of Example 4. FIG. 30B illustrates an enlargement of the DP2 and anhydro DP 2 fractions as shown in FIG. 30A.

[00599] FIG. 31A illustrates GC-MS spectrum detection of the DPI, anhydro DPI, DP2 and anhydro DP2 fractions of an oligosaccharide preparation of Example 7. FIG. 31B illustrates an enlargement of the DP2 and anhydro DP 2 fractions as shown in FIG. 31 A.

[00600] FIG. 32 illustrates the effect of reaction temperature, water content, and reaction time on the content of DP2 anhydro-subunit containing oligosaccharides in the oligosaccharide preparations, as compared to an oligosaccharide preparation according to Example 2.

[00601] FIG. 33 illustrates the NMR assignments of 1,6-anhydro-beta-D-glucofuranose and 1,6-anhydro-beta-D-glucopyranose.

[00602] FIG. 34 illustrates the increased abundance of desirable metabolic pathways in the microbiome metagenomes of broiler chickens fed diets comprising oligosaccharide preparations.

[00603] FIG. 35 illustrates MALDI-MS spectra comparing the oligosaccharide preparation from Example 9 at different laser energies.

[00604] FIG. 36 illustrates high variability of microbiome phylogenetic composition between otherwise identical broiler chickens fed the same diet and grown under identical conditions in the same broiler house.

[00605] FIG. 37 illustrates the comparatively high consistency of key microbiome metabolic functions in the same birds of FIG. 36 for which microbiome phylogenetic composition was variable.

[00606] FIG. 38 illustrates up-regulation of microbiome functions associated with health and nutrition benefits by feeding an oligosaccharide preparation from Example 9. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[00607] The following description and examples illustrate embodiments of the present disclosure in detail. It is to be understood that this present disclosure is not limited to the particular embodiments described herein and as such can vary. Those of skill in the art will recognize that there are numerous variations and modifications of this present disclosure, which are encompassed within its scope.

[00608] All terms are intended to be understood as they would be understood by a person skilled in the art. Unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which the disclosure pertains.

[00609] The section headings used herein are for organizational purposes only and are not to be construed as limiting the subject matter described.

[00610] Although various features of the present disclosure may be described in the context of a single embodiment, the features may also be provided separately or in any suitable combination. Conversely, although the present disclosure may be described herein in the context of separate embodiments for clarity, the present disclosure may also be implemented in a single embodiment.

[00611] The following definitions supplement those in the art and are directed to the current application and are not to be imputed to any related or unrelated case, e.g., to any commonly owned patent or application. Although any methods and materials similar or equivalent to those described herein can be used in the practice for testing of the present disclosure, the preferred materials and methods are described herein. Accordingly, the terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting. I. Definitions

[00612] The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular cases only and is not intended to be limiting. As used herein, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. Furthermore, to the extent that the terms “including,” “includes,” “having,” “has,” “with,” or variants thereof are used in either the detailed description and / or the claims, such terms are intended to be inclusive in a manner similar to the term “comprising.”

[00613] It is understood that terms such as “comprises,” “comprised,” “comprising,” and the like have the meaning attributed to it in U.S. Patent law; i.e., they mean “includes,” “included,” “including,” and the like and are intended to be inclusive or open ended and does not exclude additional, unrecited elements or method steps; and that terms such as “consisting essentially of’ and “consists essentially of’ have the meaning ascribed to them in U.S. Patent law; i.e., they allow for elements not explicitly recited, but exclude elements that are found in the prior art or that affect a basic or novel characteristic of the invention.

[00614] The term “and / or” as used in a phrase such as “A and / or B” herein is intended to include both A and B; A or B; A (alone); and B (alone). Likewise, the term “and / or” as used in a phrase such as “A, B, and / or C” is intended to encompass each of the following embodiments: A, B, and C; A, B, or C; A or B; A or C; B or C; A and B; A and C; B and C; A (alone); B (alone); and C (alone).

[00615] When ranges are used herein for physical properties, such as molecular weight, or chemical properties, such as chemical formulae, all combinations and sub-combinations of ranges and specific embodiments therein are intended to be included. The term “about” when referring to a number or a numerical range means that the number or numerical range referred to is an approximation within experimental variability (or within statistical experimental error), and thus the number or numerical range, in some instances, will vary between 1% and 15% of the stated number or numerical range. In some embodiments, the term “about” means within 15%, 10%, 9%, 8%, 7%, 6%, 5%, 4%, 3%, 2%, 1%, 0.5%, 0.1%, or 0.05% of a given value or range.

[00616] As used herein the term “administering” includes providing a synthetic oligosaccharide preparation, a nutritional composition, a liquid, or an animal feed composition described herein, to an animal such that the animal can ingest the synthetic oligosaccharide preparation, the nutritional composition, the liquid, or the animal feed composition. In such embodiments, the animal ingests some portion of the synthetic oligosaccharide preparation, the nutritional composition, or the animal feed composition. In some embodiments, the synthetic oligosaccharide preparation, the nutritional composition, the liquid, or the animal feed composition is provided to said animal such that the animal may ingest the synthetic oligosaccharide preparation, the nutritional composition, the liquid, or the animal feed composition at will. In some embodiments, the synthetic oligosaccharide preparation, the nutritional composition, the liquid, or the animal feed composition is administered to said animal as a prescribed diet. In some embodiments, the synthetic oligosaccharide preparation, the nutritional composition, the liquid, or the animal feed composition is administered to said animal via manual feeding, e.g., an oral syringe feeding, a tube feeding, etc. In some embodiments, the synthetic oligosaccharide preparation, the nutritional composition, the liquid, or the animal feed composition is administered to said animal oral, e.g., at will or manually. In some embodiments, the animal ingests some portion of the synthetic oligosaccharide preparation, the nutritional composition, the liquid, or the animal feed composition in every 24-hour period or every other 24-hour period for at least 7 days, 14 days, 21 days, 30 days, 45 days, 60 days, 75 days, 90 days or 120 days. In some embodiments, the oligosaccharide preparation may be dissolved in water or another liquid, and the animal ingests some portion of the oligosaccharide preparation by drinking the liquid. In some embodiments, the oligosaccharide is provided to the animal via its drinking water. In some embodiments, the oligosaccharide preparation, nutritional composition, liquid, or animal feed composition is consumed at will.

[00617] As used herein the term “feed conversion ratio (FCR),” refers to the ratio of feed mass input (for example consumed by the animal) to the animal output, wherein the animal output is the target animal product. For example, the animal output for dairy animals is milk, whereas the animal output for animals raised for meat is body mass.

[00618] As used herein, “feed efficiency” refers to the ratio of the animal output to the feed mass input (for example consumed by the animal), wherein the animal output is the target animal product.

[00619] As used herein, the term “anhydro-subunit” refers to a product of thermal dehydration of a monosaccharide (or monosaccharide subunit) or a sugar caramelization product. For example, an “anhydro-subunit” can be an anhydro-monosaccharide such as anhydro-glucose. As another example, an “anhydro-subunit” can be linked with one or more regular or anhydro-monosaccharide subunits via glycosidic linkage.

[00620] The term “oligosaccharide” refers to a monosaccharide or a compound containing two or more monosaccharide subunits linked by glycosidic bonds. As such, an oligosaccharide includes a regular monosaccharide; an anhydro-monosaccharide; or a compound containing two or more monosaccharide subunits, wherein one or more monosaccharide subunits are optionally, independently replaced by one or more anhydro-subunits. An oligosaccharide can be functionalized. As used herein, the term oligosaccharide encompasses all species of the oligosaccharide, wherein each of the monosaccharide subunit in the oligosaccharide is independently and optionally functionalized and / or replaced with its corresponding anhydro-monosaccharide subunit.

[00621] As used herein, the term “oligosaccharide preparation” refers to a preparation that comprises at least one oligosaccharide.

[00622] As used herein, the term “gluco-oligosaccharide” refers to a glucose or a compound containing two or more glucose monosaccharide subunits linked by glycosidic bonds. As such, a glucooligosaccharide includes a glucose; an anhydro-glucose; or a compound containing two or more glucose monosaccharide subunits linked by glycosidic bonds, wherein one or more of said glucose monosaccharide subunits are each optionally and independently replaced with an anhydro-glucose subunit.

[00623] As used herein, the term “galacto-oligosaccharide” refers to a galactose or a compound containing two or more galactose monosaccharide subunits linked by glycosidic bonds. As such, a galacto-oligosaccharide includes a galactose; an anhydro-galactose or a compound containing two or more galactose monosaccharide subunits linked by glycosidic bonds, wherein at least one monosaccharide subunit is optionally replaced with an anhydro-galactose subunit.

[00624] As used herein, the term “gluco-galacto-oligosaccharide preparation” refers to a composition that is produced from a complete or incomplete sugar condensation reaction of glucose and galactose. Accordingly, in some embodiments, a gluco-galactose-oligosaccharide preparation comprises glucooligosaccharides, galacto-oligosaccharides, compounds containing one or more glucose monosaccharide subunits and one or more galactose monosaccharide subunits linked by glycosidic bonds, or a combination thereof. In some embodiments, a gluco-galactose-oligosaccharide preparation comprises gluco-oligosaccharides and compounds containing one or more glucose monosaccharide subunits and one or more galactose monosaccharide subunits linked by glycosidic bonds. In some embodiments, a gluco-galactose-oligosaccharide preparation comprises galacto-oligosaccharides and compounds containing one or more glucose monosaccharide subunits and one or more galactose monosaccharide subunits linked by glycosidic bonds. In some embodiments, a gluco-galactose-oligosaccharide preparation comprises compounds containing one or more glucose monosaccharide subunits and one or more galactose monosaccharide subunits linked by glycosidic bonds.

[00625] As used herein, the term “monosaccharide unit” and “monosaccharide subunit” are used interchangeably. A “monosaccharide subunit” refers to a monosaccharide monomer in an oligosaccharide. For an oligosaccharide having a degree of polymerization of 1, the oligosaccharide can be referred to as a monosaccharide subunit or monosaccharide. For an oligosaccharide having a degree of polymerization of 2 or higher, its monosaccharide subunits are linked via glycosidic bonds.

[00626] As used herein, the term “regular monosaccharide” refers to a monosaccharide that does not contain an anhydro-subunit. The term “regular disaccharide” refers to a disaccharide that does not 2021236325   20 Aug 2026 contain an anhydro-subunit. Accordingly, the term “regular subunit” refers to a subunit that is not an anhydro-subunit.

[00627] As used herein, the term an “anhydro DPn oligosaccharide,” an “anhydro DPn species,” or a “DPn anhydro-subunit containing oligosaccharide” refers to an oligosaccharide that has a degree of polymerization of n and comprises one or more anhydro-subunits. As such, an anhydro-glucose is a DP1 anhydro-subunit containing oligosaccharide and an cellotriosan is a DP3 anhydro-subunit containing oligosaccharide. [00628J The term “relative abundance” or “abundance,” as used herein, refers to the abundance of a species in terms of how common or rare the species exists. For example, a DP1 fraction comprising 10% anhydro-subunit containing oligosaccharides by relative abundance can refer to a plurality of DP1 oligosaccharides, wherein 10% of the DP1 oligosaccharides are anhydro-monosaccharides. The relative abundance, e.g., for a certain DP fraction of oligosaccharides, can be determined by suitable analytical instrumentations, for example, mass spectrometry and liquid chromatography such as LC-MS / MS, GC-MS, HPLC-MS, and MALDI-MS. In some embodiments, the relative abundance is determined by integrating the area under the peaks of the chromatographs (e.g., LC-MS / MS, GC-MS, and HPLC-MS) that correspond to the fractions of interest. In some embodiments, the relative abundance is determined by the peak intensities (e.g., MALDI-MS). In some embodiments, the relative abundance is determined by a combination of analytical methods such as a weight determination after separation by liquid chromatography.

[00629] As used herein, the singular forms “a,” “and,” and “the” include plural referents unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. Thus, for example, reference to “an agent” includes a plurality of such agents, and reference to “the oligosaccharide” includes reference to one or more oligosaccharides (or to a plurality of oligosaccharides) and equivalents thereof known to those skilled in the art, and so forth. [00629a] A reference herein to a patent document or any other matter identified as prior art, is not to be taken as an admission that the document or other matter was known or that the information it contains was part of the common general knowledge as at the priority date of any of the claims. II. Oligosaccharide Preparation

[00630] Disclosed herein are oligosaccharide preparations suitable for use in nutritional compositions. In some embodiments, said oligosaccharide preparation comprises at least n fractions of oligosaccharides each having a distinct degree of polymerization selected from 1 to n (DP1 to DPn fractions), wherein n is an integer greater than or equal to 2. In some embodiments, n is an integer 2021236325   20 Aug 2026 greater than 2. In some embodiments, each of the 1 to n fraction in the oligosaccharide preparation comprises from 1% to 90% anhydro-subunit containing oligosaccharides by relative abundance as measured by mass spectrometry. In some embodiments, the relative abundance of oligosaccharides in each fraction decreases monotonically with its degree of polymerization.

[00631] In some embodiments, n is an integer greater than or equal to 3. In some embodiments, n is an integer within a range of 1 to 100, such as 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 40, or 50. In some embodiments, each of the 1 to n fraction in the oligosaccharide preparation independently comprises from 0.1% to 90% anhydro-subunit containing oligosaccharides by relative abundance as measured by mass spectrometry or by LC-MS / MS or GC-MS. In some embodiments, each of the 1 to n fraction in the oligosaccharide preparation independently comprises from about 0.1% to about 15% anhydro-subunit containing oligosaccharides. In some embodiments, each of the 1 to n fraction in the oligosaccharide preparation independently comprises from about 0.5% to about 15% anhydro-subunit containing oligosaccharides. In some embodiments, the DPI and DP2 fractions each independently comprises from about 0.1% to about 15% of anhydro-subunit containing oligosaccharides by relative abundance as measured by mass spectrometry such as MALDI-MS or by LC-MS / MS or GC-MS. In some embodiments, the DPI and DP2 fractions each independently comprises from about 0.5% to about 15% of anhydro-subunit containing oligosaccharides. In some embodiments, the DPI and DP2 fractions each independently comprises from about 0.1%, 0.2%, 0.3%, 0.4%, 0.5%, 0.8%, 1%, 2% or 3% to about 8%, 9%, 10%, 11%, 12%, 13%, 14%, or 15% of anhydro-subunit containing oligosaccharides by relative abundance as measured by mass spectrometry, LC-MS / MS or GC-MS. In some embodiments, the relative abundance of oligosaccharides in each fraction decreases monotonically with its degree of polymerization.

[00632] In some embodiments, the oligosaccharide preparation is a synthetic oligosaccharide preparation. In some embodiments, a synthetic oligosaccharide preparation refers to a plurality of oligosaccharides produced by a process that does not require live organisms. In some embodiments, a synthetic oligosaccharide preparation refers to a plurality of oligosaccharides produced by a process that does not require enzymes. In some embodiments, a synthetic oligosaccharide preparation refers to a plurality of oligosaccharides produced by a chemical process. In certain embodiments, a synthetic oligosaccharide preparation refers to a plurality of oligosaccharides produced by the condensation of sugars. A. Animal Microbiome Metabolic Modulators

[00633] Disclosed herein are microbiome metabolic modulators comprising oligosaccharide preparations comprising anhydro-sugar components and / or sugar dehydration product components that exhibit complex functional modulation of a microbial community, such as the animal gut microbiome. The oligosaccharide preparations provide a utility to modulate, modify, or regulate the utilization of fermentable carbon by microflora and direct metabolic flux to beneficial species, thus providing a microbiome-mediated health or nutritional benefit.

[00634] Indigestible carbohydrates can act as prebiotics by providing a fermentable carbon source to a microbial community. For example, diets rich in soluble plant fiber have been identified for their ability to nourish the gut microflora. Additionally, bifidogenic prebiotics support the growth of bifidobacteria (e.g., members of genus Bifidobacterium) and lactogenic prebiotics support the growth of Lactobacillus species.

[00635] Prebiotic fiber may be fermented into beneficial chemical species such as short chain fatty acids (SCFAs). Prebiotic fibers include: resistant starches; cellulose; pectins such as rhamnogalactans, arabinogalactans, arabinans; hemicelluloses such as arabinoxylans, xyloglucans, glucomannans, galactomannans; xylans such as corn cob oligosaccharides; b-glucans such as cereal b-glucans, yeast b-glucans, bacterial b-glucans; polyfructans such as inulin and levan; and gums such as alginate. Inulin is a common bifidogenic prebiotic fiber.

[00636] In other cases, prebiotics act by hindering the ability of pathogenic bacteria to engraft and thus infect a host organism via anti-adherence mechanisms such as the competitive binding of cell surface receptor cites. Certain galacto-oligosaccharides provide effective anti-adherence of various enteropathogenic organisms, such as Escherichia species.

[00637] Prebiotics are typically provided to a host animal by incorporation into the diet, upon which they exhibit a dose-dependent response (at least up to a saturation threshold). For example, providing a higher dose of a bifidogenic prebiotic such as inulin tends to provide a larger increase in the population of Bifidobacterium species. Higher doses of inulin correspond to higher production of SCFAs through fermentation. This is because the prebiotic provides a metabolic carbon source and more carbon translates to more fermented product. Similarly, providing a higher dose of an antiadherence prebiotic provides a likelihood of competitively binding surface receptor sites.

[00638] Certain carbohydrate species comprising modified monomeric subunits may affect the manner in which microbial systems utilize other carbohydrates otherwise available to them as a prebiotic source. For example, such carbohydrate species may be a modified carbohydrate species that modulate the bacterial starch utilization system (SUS), i.e., proteins responsible for the cellsurface recognition, glycosidic cleavage, and importation of starch metabolites.

[00639] Carbohydrate compositions capable of complex modulation of the microbiota of animals have utility as feed additives that improve animal health and nutrition via their impact on the animal microbiome. For example, modulation of butyrate production by the gut microflora confers health benefits to the animal by promoting a healthy gut mucosa, barrier function, and via anti-inflammatory effects. Modulation of propionic acid production affects the metabolic energy extracted from the animal’s diet via increased host gluconeogenesis. Relevant microbial communities include, for example, ileal, jejunal, and cecal and / or fecal microbiota in poultry, pigs, dogs, cats, horses, or the ruminant microbiota of cattle, cows, sheep, etc.

[00640] Further, herein disclosed oligosaccharide preparations are advantageous in that they can be selectively analyzed and quantified in a complex nutritional composition such as complete animal feed due to the presence of anhydro-subunits. It is of commercial utility to assay for the presence and / or concentration of feed additives such as oligosaccharide preparations. Such assay may be performed for the purpose of quality control, to determine whether the additive was blended consistently with the base nutritional composition to provide a final nutritional composition comprising the additive at the intended dose or level of inclusion.

[00641] However, the nutritional compositions themselves comprise a large quantity and diversity of carbohydrate structures (e.g., starch, plant fibers and pectins). It is therefore particularly challenging to distinguish small quantities of oligosaccharide-based feed additives from the vast sea of other carbohydrates present as base of the nutritional composition. As such, the herein disclosed oligosaccharide preparation provides a means to distinguish itself from other carbohydrates sources in the nutritional composition through the anhydro-subunits. B. Degree of Polymerization (DP) Distribution

[00642] In some embodiments, the oligosaccharide preparation comprises at least n fractions of oligosaccharides each having a distinct degree of polymerization selected from 1 to n (DPI to DPn fractions). In some embodiments, the oligosaccharide preparation comprises n fractions of oligosaccharides each having a distinct degree of polymerization selected from 1 to n (DPI to DPn fractions). For example, in some embodiments, the DPI fraction comprises one or more monosaccharides and / or one or more anhydro-monosaccharides. As another example, in some embodiments, the DPI fraction comprises glucose, galactose, fructose, 1,6-anhydro-P-D-glucofuranose, 1,6-anhydro-P-D-glucopyranose, or any combination thereof. As yet another example, in some embodiments, the DP2 fraction comprises one or more regular disaccharides and one or more anhydro-subunit containing disaccharides. In some embodiments, the DP2 fraction comprises lactose.

[00643] In some embodiments, n is at least 2, at least 3, at least 5, at least 6, at least 7, at least 8, at least 9, at least 10, at least 11, at least 12, at least 13, at least 14, at least 15, at least 16, at least 17, at least 18, at least 19, at least 20, at least 21, at least 22, at least 23, at least 24, at least 25, at least 26, at least 27, at least 28, at least 29, at least 30, at least 31, at least 32, at least 33, at least 34, at least 35, at least 36, at least 37, at least 38, at least 39, at least 40, at least 41, at least 42, at least 43, at least 44, at least 45, at least 46, at least 47, at least 48, at least 49, at least 50, at least 51, at least 52, at least 53, at least 54, at least 55, at least 56, at least 57, at least 58, at least 59, at least 60, at least 61, at least 62, at least 63, at least 64, at least 65, at least 66, at least 67, at least 68, at least 69, at least 70, at least 71, at least 72, at least 73, at least 74, at least 75, at least 76, at least 77, at least 78, at least 79, at least 80, at least 81, at least 82, at least 83, at least 84, at least 85, at least 86, at least 87, at least 88, at least 89, at least 90, at least 91, at least 92, at least 93, at least 94, at least 95, at least 96, at least 97, at least 98, at least 99, or at least 100. In some embodiments, n is 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87, 88, 89, 90, 91, 92, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98, 99, or 100. In some embodiments, n is less than 10, less than 11, less than 12, less than 13, less than 14, less than 15, less than 16, less than 17, less than 18, less than 19, less than 20, less than 21, less than 22, less than 23, less than 24, less than 25, less than 26, less than 27, less than 28, less than 29, less than 30, less than 31, less than 32, less than 33, less than 34, less than 35, less than 36, less than 37, less than 38, less than 39, less than 40, less than 41, less than 42, less than 43, less than 44, less than 45, less than 46, less than 47, less than 48, less than 49, less than 50, less than 51, less than 52, less than 53, less than 54, less than 55, less than 56, less than 57, less than 58, less than 59, less than 60, less than 61, less than 62, less than 63, less than 64, less than 65, less than 66, less than 67, less than 68, less than 69, less than 70, less than 71, less than 72, less than 73, less than 74, less than 75, less than 76, less than 77, less than 78, less than 79, less than 80, less than 81, less than 82, less than 83, less than 84, less than 85, less than 86, less than 87, less than 88, less than 89, less than 90, less than 91, less than 92, less than 93, less than 94, less than 95, less than 96, less than 97, less than 98, less than 99, or less than 100. In some embodiments, n is from 2 to 100, from 5 to 90, from 10 to 90, from 10 to 80, from 10 to 70, from 10 to 60, from 10 to 50, from 10 to 40, from 10 to 30, from 15 to 60, from 15 to 50, from 15 to 45, from 15 to 40, from 15 to 35, or from 15 to 30.

[00644] A distribution of the degree of polymerization of the oligosaccharide preparation can be determined by any suitable analytical method and instrumentation, including but not limited to end group method, osmotic pressure (osmometry), ultracentrifugation, viscosity measurements, light scattering method, size exclusion chromatography (SEC), SEC-MALLS, field flow fractionation (FFF), asymmetric flow field flow fractionation (A4F), high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), and mass spectrometry (MS). For example, the distribution of the degree of polymerization may be determined and / or detected by mass spectrometry, such as matrix-assisted laser desorption / ionization (MALDI)-MS, liquid chromatography (LC)-MS, or gas chromatography (GC)-MS. For another example, the distribution of the degree of polymerization can be determined and / or detected by SEC, such as gel permeation chromatography (GPC). As yet another example, the distribution of the degree of polymerization can be determined and / or detected by HPLC, FFF, or A4F. In some embodiments, the distribution of the degree of polymerization is determined and / or detected by MALDI-MS. In some embodiments, the distribution of the degree of polymerization is determined and / or detected by GC-MS or LC-MS. In some embodiments, the distribution of the degree of polymerization is determined and / or detected by SEC. In some embodiments, the distribution of the degree of polymerization is determined and / or detected by HPLC. In some embodiments, the distribution of the degree of polymerization is determined and / or detected by a combination of analytical instrumentations such as MALDI-MS and SEC. In some embodiments, the degree of polymerization of the oligosaccharide preparation can be determined based on its molecular weight and molecular weight distribution. For example, FIG. 2 shows a MALDI-MS spectrum that illustrates the degrees of polymerizations of various fractions and the presence of anhydro-subunit containing oligosaccharides (the -18 g / mol MW offset peaks) in all of the observed fractions.

[00645] In some embodiments, the relative abundance of oligosaccharides in a majority of the fractions decreases monotonically with its degree of polymerization. In some embodiments, the relative abundance of oligosaccharides of less than 6, less than 5, less than 4, less than 3, or less than 2 fractions of the oligosaccharide preparation do not decrease monotonically with its degree of polymerization.

[00646] In some embodiments, the relative abundance of oligosaccharides in at least 5, at least 10, at least 15, at least 20, at least 25, at least 30, at least 35, at least 40, at least 45, or at least 50 DP fractions decreases monotonically with its degree of polymerization. In some embodiments, the relative abundance of oligosaccharides in at least 5, at least 10, at least 15, at least 20, at least 25, at least 30, at least 35, at least 40, at least 45, or at least 50 consecutive DP fractions decreases monotonically with its degree of polymerization. In some embodiments, the relative abundance of oligosaccharides in at least 5, at least 10, at least 20, or at least 30 DP fractions decreases monotonically with its degree of polymerization. In some embodiments, the relative abundance of oligosaccharides in at least 5, at least 10, at least 20, or at least 30 consecutive DP fractions decreases monotonically with its degree of polymerization.

[00647] In some embodiments, the relative abundance of oligosaccharides in each of the n fractions decreases monotonically with its degree of polymerization. For example, FIG. 15 provides an example of a DP distribution where the relative abundance of oligosaccharides in each of the n fractions decrease monotonically with its DP. For example, in some embodiments, only the relative abundance of oligosaccharides in the DP3 fraction does not decrease monotonically with its degree of polymerization, i.e., the relative abundance of oligosaccharides in the DP3 fraction is lower than the relative abundance of oligosaccharides in the DP4 fraction. In some embodiments, the relative abundance of oligosaccharides in the DP2 fraction is lower than the relative abundance of oligosaccharides in the DP3 fraction. For example, FIG. 16 illustrates a degree of polymerization distribution wherein the relative abundance of oligosaccharides in the DP2 fraction does not decrease monotonically with its degree of polymerization.

[00648] In some embodiments, a herein described oligosaccharide preparation has a DPI fraction content of from about 1% to about 50%, from about 1% to about 40%, from about 1% to about 35%, from about 1% to about 30%, from about 1% to about 25%, from about 1% to about 20%, from about 1% to about 15%, from about 5% to about 50%, from about 5% to about 40%, from about 5% to about 35%, from about 5% to about 30%, from about 5% to about 25%, from about 5% to about 20%, from about 5% to about 15%, from about 10% to about 50%, from about 10% to about 40%, from about 10% to about 35%, from about 10% to about 30%, from about 10% to about 25%, from about 10% to about 20%, or from about 10% to about 15% by weight or by relative abundance. In some embodiments, the oligosaccharide preparation has a DPI fraction content of from about 10% to about 35%, from about 10% to about 20%, or from about 10% to about 15% by weight or by relative abundance. In some embodiments, the content of the DPI fraction is determined by MALDI-MS. In some embodiments, the content of the DPI fraction is determined by HPLC. In some embodiments, the content of the DPI fraction is determined by LC-MS / MS or GC-MS.

[00649] In some embodiments, a herein described oligosaccharide preparation has a DP2 fraction content of from about 1% to about 35%, from about 1% to about 30%, from about 1% to about 25%, from about 1% to about 20%, from about 1% to about 15%, from about 1% to about 10%, from about 5% to about 30%, from about 5% to about 25%, from about 5% to about 20%, from about 5% to about 15%, or from about 5% to about 10% by weight or by relative abundance. In some embodiments, the oligosaccharide preparation has a DP2 fraction content of from about 5% to about 25%, from about 5% to about 20%, from about 5% to about 15%, or from about 5% to about 10% by weight or by relative abundance. In some embodiments, the content of the DP2 fraction is determined by MALDI-MS. In some embodiments, the content of the DP2 fraction is determined by HPLC. In some embodiments, the content of the DP2 fraction is determined by LC-MS / MS or GC-MS.

[00650] In some embodiments, a herein described oligosaccharide preparation has a DP3 fraction content of from about 1% to about 30%, from about 1% to about 25%, from about 1% to about 20%, from about 1% to about 15%, from about 1% to about 10%, from about 5% to about 30%, from about 5% to about 25%, from about 5% to about 20%, from about 5% to about 15%, or from about 5% to about 10% by weight or by relative abundance. In some embodiments, the oligosaccharide preparation has a DP3 fraction content of from about 1% to about 15%, from about 1% to about 10%, from about 5% to about 15%, or from about 5% to about 10% by weight or by relative abundance. In some embodiments, the content of the DP3 fraction is determined by MALDI-MS. In some embodiments, the content of the DP3 fraction is determined by HPLC. In some embodiments, the content of the DP3 fraction is determined by LC-MS / MS or GC-MS.

[00651] In some embodiments, a herein described oligosaccharide preparation has a DP4 fraction content of from about 0.1% to about 20%, from about 0.1% to about 15%, from about 0.1% to about 10%, from about 0.1% to about 5%, from about 1% to about 20%, from about 1% to about 15%, from about 1% to about 10%, or from about 1% to about 5% by weight or by relative abundance. In some embodiments, the oligosaccharide preparation has a DP4 fraction content of from about 1% to about 15%, from about 1% to about 10%, or from about 1% to about 5% by weight or by relative abundance. In some embodiments, a herein described oligosaccharide preparation has a DP5 fraction content of from about 0.1% to about 15%, from about 0.1% to about 10%, from about 0.1% to about 5%, from about 1% to about 15%, from about 1% to about 10%, or from about 1% to about 5% by weight or by relative abundance. In some embodiments, the oligosaccharide preparation has a DP5 fraction content of from about 1% to about 10% or from about 1% to about 5% by weight or by relative abundance. In some embodiments, the content of the DP4 and / or the DP5 fraction is determined by MALDI-MS. In some embodiments, the content of the DP4 and / or the DP5 fraction is determined by HPLC. In some embodiments, the content of the DP4 and / or the DP5 fraction is determined by LC-MS / MS or GC-MS.

[00652] In some embodiments, the ratio of DP2 fraction to DPI fraction in the oligosaccharide preparation is from about 0.01 to about 0.8, from about 0.02 to about 0.7, from about 0.02 to about 0.6, from about 0.02 to about 0.5, from about 0.02 to about 0.4, from about 0.02 to about 0.3, from about 0.02 to about 0.2, from about 0.1 to about 0.6, from about 0.1 to about 0.5, from about 0.1 to about 0.4, or from about 0.1 to about 0.3 by their weight or relative abundance. In some embodiments, the ratio of DP2 fraction to DPI fraction in the oligosaccharide preparation is from about 0.02 to about 0.4 by their weight or relative abundance.

[00653] In some embodiments, the ratio of DP3 fraction to DP2 fraction in the oligosaccharide preparation is from about 0.01 to about 0.7, from about 0.01 to about 0.6, from about 0.01 to about 0.5, from about 0.01 to about 0.4, from about 0.01 to about 0.3, or from about 0.01 to about 0.2 by their weight or relative abundance. In some embodiments, the ratio of DP3 fraction to DP2 fraction in the oligosaccharide preparation is from about 0.01 to about 0.3 by their weight or relative abundance.

[00654] In some embodiments, the aggregate content of DPI and DP2 fractions in the oligosaccharide preparation is less than 70%, less than 60%, less than 50%, less than 40%, less than 30%, less than 20%, or less than 10% by weight or by relative abundance. In some embodiments, the aggregate content of DPI and DP2 fractions in the oligosaccharide preparation is less than 50%, less than 30%, or less than 10% by weight or by relative abundance.

[00655] In some embodiments, an oligosaccharide preparation described herein has a mean DP value within a range of 2 to 10. In some embodiments, the oligosaccharide preparation has a mean DP value of from about 2 to about 8, from about 2 to about 5, or from about 2 to about 4. In some embodiments, the oligosaccharide preparation has a mean DP value of about 3.5. The mean DP value can be determined by SEC or by elemental analysis. C. Anhydro-subunit Level

[00656] In some embodiments, each of the n fractions of oligosaccharides independently comprises an anhydro-subunit level. For instance, in some embodiments, the DPI fraction comprises 10% anhydro-subunit containing oligosaccharides by relative abundance, and the DP2 fraction comprises 15% anhydro-subunit containing oligosaccharides by relative abundance. For another example, in some embodiments, DPI, DP2, and DP3 fraction each comprises 5%, 10%, and 2% anhydro-subunit containing oligosaccharides by relative abundance, respectively. In other embodiments, two or more fractions of oligosaccharides may comprise similar level of anhydro-subunit containing oligosaccharides. For example, in some embodiments, the DPI and DP3 fraction each comprises about 5 % anhydro-subunit containing oligosaccharides by relative abundance.

[00657] In some embodiments, each of the 1 to n fractions in a herein described oligosaccharide preparation independently comprises from about 0.1% to 15% of anhydro-subunit containing oligosaccharides by relative abundance as measured by mass spectrometry, LC-MS / MS or GC-MS. In some embodiments, each of the 1 to n fractions in the oligosaccharide preparation independently comprises from about 0.5% to 15% of anhydro-subunit containing oligosaccharides by relative abundance as measured by mass spectrometry, LC-MS / MS or GC-MS. In some embodiments, LC-MS / MS is used to determine the relative abundance for oligosaccharides in the DPI, DP2, and / or DP3 fractions. In some embodiments, GC-MS is used to determine the relative abundance for oligosaccharides in the DPI, DP2, and / or DP3 fractions. In some embodiments, MALDI-MS is used to determine the relative abundance for oligosaccharides in the DP4 fraction or in a higher DP fraction. In some embodiments, the relative abundance of a certain fraction is determined by integrating the area under the peaks of the LC-MS / MS chromatogram that are designated as corresponding to that fraction. In some embodiments, the relative abundance of a certain fraction is determined by integrating the area under the peaks of the GC-MS chromatogram that are designated as corresponding to that fraction.

[00658] The level of anhydro-subunits can be determined by any suitable analytical methods, such as nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, mass spectrometry, HPLC, FFF, A4F, or any combination thereof. In some embodiments, the level of anhydro-subunits is determined, at least in part, by mass spectrometry such as MALDI-MS. In some embodiments, the level of anhydro-subunits is determined, at least in part, by NMR. In some embodiments, the level of anhydro-subunits containing oligosaccharides is determined, at least in part, by HPLC. In some embodiments, the level of anhydro-subunits containing oligosaccharides is determined by MALDI-MS, as illustrated by the -18 g / mol MW offset peaks in FIG. 2. In some embodiments, the presence and the type of species of anhydro-subunits can be determined and / or detected by NMR, as illustrated by Example 11, FIG. 3, and FIG. 4. In some embodiments, the relative abundance of anhydro-subunit containing oligosaccharides is determined by MALDI-MS. In some embodiments, the relative abundance of anhydro-subunit containing oligosaccharides is determined by LC-MS / MS, as illustrated in FIGs. 24A-24C, 25A-25C, 26A-26C and 27A-27C. In some embodiments, the relative abundance of anhydrosubunit containing oligosaccharides is determined by GC-MS, as illustrated in FIGs. 28A-28B, 29A-29B, 30A-30B and 31A-31B.

[00659] In some embodiments, at least one fraction of a herein described oligosaccharide preparation comprises less than 80%, less than 70%, less than 60%, less than 50%, less than 40%, less than 30%, less than 20%, less than 19%, less than 18%, less than 17%, less than 16%, less than 15%, less than 14%, less than 13%, less than 12%, less than 11%, less than 10%, less than 9%, less than 8%, less than 7%, less than 6%, less than 5%, less than 4%, less than 3%, less than 2%, or less than 1% of anhydrosubunit containing oligosaccharides by relative abundance. In some embodiments, at least one fraction of a herein described oligosaccharide preparation comprises less than 10%, less than 9%, less than 8%, less than 7%, less than 6%, less than 5%, less than 4%, less than 3%, or less than 2% of anhydrosubunit containing oligosaccharides by relative abundance. In other embodiments, at least one fraction of a herein described oligosaccharide preparation comprises greater than 0.5%, greater than 0.8%, greater than 1%, greater than 2%, greater than 3%, greater than 4%, greater than 5%, greater than 6%, greater than 7%, greater than 8%, greater than 9%, greater than 10%, greater than 11%, greater than 12%, greater than 13%, greater than 14%, greater than 15%, greater than 16%, greater than 17%, greater than 18%, greater than 19%, greater than 20%, greater than 30%, greater than 40%, greater than 50%, greater than 60%, greater than 70%, or greater than 80% of anhydro-subunit containing oligosaccharides by relative abundance. In other embodiments, at least one fraction of a herein described oligosaccharide preparation comprises greater than 20%, greater than 21%, greater than 22%, greater than 23%, greater than 24%, greater than 25%, greater than 26%, greater than 27%, greater than 28%, greater than 29%, or greater than 30% of anhydro-subunit containing oligosaccharides by relative abundance. In some embodiments, at least one fraction (such as DPI, DP2, and / or DP3) of the oligosaccharide preparation comprises about 0.1%, about 0.2%, about 0.3%, about 0.4%, about 0.5%, about 0.6%, about 0.7%, about 0.8%, about 0.9%, about 1%, about 2%, about 3%, about 4%, about 5%, about 6%, about 7%, about 8%, about 9%, about 10%, about 11%, about 12%, about 13%, about 14%, about 15%, about 16%, about 17%, about 18%, about 19%, about 20%, about 21%, about 22%, about 23%, about 24%, about 25%, or about 30% of anhydro-subunit containing oligosaccharides by relative abundance. In some embodiments, at least one fraction (such as DPI, DP2, and / or DP3) of the oligosaccharide preparation comprises about 0.1%, about 0.2%, about 0.3%, about 0.4%, about 0.5%, about 0.6%, about 0.7%, about 0.8%, about 0.9%, about 1%, about 1.5%, about 2%, about 3%, about 4%, about 5%, about 6%, about 7%, about 8%, about 9%, or about 10% of anhydro-subunit containing oligosaccharides by relative abundance. In some embodiments, at least one fraction (such as DPI, DP2, and / or DP3) of the oligosaccharide preparation comprises from about 0.1% to about 90%, from about 0.5% to about 90%, from about 0.5% to about 80%, from about 0.5% to about 70%, from about 0.5% to about 60%, from about 0.5% to about 50%, from about 0.5% to about 40%, from about 0.5% to about 30%, from about 0.5% to about 20%, from about 0.5% to about 10%, from about 0.5% to about 9%, from about 0.5% to about 8%, from about 0.5% to about 7%, from about 0.5% to about 6%, from about 0.5% to about 5%, from about 0.5% to about 4%, from about 0.5% to about 3%, from about 0.5% to about 2%, from about 1% to about 10%,from about 2% to about 9%, from about 2% to about 8%, from about 2% to about 7%, from about 2% to about 6%, from about 2% to about 5%, from about 2% to about 4%, from about 2% to about 3%, or from about 5% to about 10% of anhydro-subunit containing oligosaccharides by relative abundance. In some embodiments, the DPI and DP2 fractions of the oligosaccharide preparation each independently comprises anhydro-subunit containing oligosaccharides within a range of from about 0.1%, 0.5%, 0.6%, 0.7%, 0.8%, 0.9%, 1%, 1.1%, 1.2%, 1.3%, 1.4%, or 1.5% to about 8%, 9%, 10%, 11%, 12%, or 15% by relative abundance as measured by mass spectrometry, LC-MS / MS, or GC-MS. In some embodiments, the DPI and DP2 fractions each independently comprises from about 0.5% to about 15% of anhydro-subunit containing oligosaccharides by relative abundance as measured by mass spectrometry or by LC-MS / MS or GC-MS.

[00660] In some embodiments, each fraction of a herein described oligosaccharide preparation comprises less than 80%, less than 70%, less than 60%, less than 50%, less than 40%, less than 30%, less than 20%, less than 19%, less than 18%, less than 17%, less than 16%, less than 15%, less than 14%, less than 13%, less than 12%, less than 11%, less than 10%, less than 9%, less than 8%, less than 7%, less than 6%, less than 5%, less than 4%, less than 3%, or less than 2% of anhydro-subunit containing oligosaccharides by relative abundance. In some embodiments, each fraction of a herein described oligosaccharide preparation comprises less than 10%, 9%, 8%, 7%, 6%, 5%, 4%, 3%, or 2% anhydro-subunit containing oligosaccharides by relative abundance. In other embodiments, each fraction of a herein described oligosaccharide preparation comprises greater than 2%, 3%, 4%, 5%, 6%, 7%, 8%, 9%, 10%, 11%, 12%, 13%, 14%, 15%, 16%, 17%, 18%, 19%, 20%, 30%, 40%, 50%, 60%, 70%, or 80% of anhydro-subunit containing oligosaccharides by relative abundance. In other embodiments, each fraction of a herein described oligosaccharide preparation comprises greater than 20%, 21%, 22%, 23%, 24%, 25%, 26%, 27%, 28%, 29%, or 30% anhydro-subunit containing oligosaccharides by relative abundance. In some embodiments, each fraction of a herein described oligosaccharide preparation comprises about 0.1%, about 0.2%, about 0.3%, about 0.4%, about 0.5%, about 0.6%, about 0.7%, about 0.8%, about 0.9%, about 1%, about 2%, about 3%, about 4%, about 5%, about 6%, about 7%, about 8%, about 9%, about 10%, about 11%, about 12%, about 13%, about 14%, about 15%, about 16%, about 17%, about 18%, about 19%, about 20%, about 21%, about 22%, about 23%, about 24%, about 25%, or about 30% of anhydro-subunit containing oligosaccharides by relative abundance. In some embodiments, each fraction of a herein described oligosaccharide preparation comprises about 0.1%, about 0.2%, about 0.3%, about 0.4%, about 0.5%, about 0.6%, about 0.7%, about 0.8%, about 0.9%, about 1%, about 2%, about 3%, about 4%, about 5%, about 6%, about 7%, about 8%, about 9%, or about 10% of anhydro-subunit containing oligosaccharides by relative abundance. In some embodiments, each fraction of a herein described oligosaccharide preparation comprises from about 0.1% to about 90%, from about 0.1% to about 15%, from about 0.5% to about 90%, from about 0.5% to about 80%, from about 0.5% to about 70%, from about 0.5% to about 60%, from about 0.5% to about 50%, from about 0.5% to about 40%, from about 0.5% to about 30%, from about 0.5% to about 20%, from about 0.5% to about 10%, from about 0.5% to about 9%, from about 0.5% to about 8%, from about 0.5% to about 7%, from about 0.5% to about 6%, from about 0.5% to about 5%, from about 0.5% to about 4%, from about 0.5% to about 3%, from about 0.5% to about 2%, from about 2% to about 9%, from about 2% to about 8%, from about 2% to about 7%, from about 2% to about 6%, from about 2% to about 5%, from about 2% to about 4%, from about 2% to about 3%, or from about 5% to about 10% of anhydro-subunit containing oligosaccharides by relative abundance.

[00661] In some embodiments, a herein described oligosaccharide preparation comprises less than 80%, less than 70%, less than 60%, less than 50%, less than 40%, less than 30%, less than 20%, less than 19%, less than 18%, less than 17%, less than 16%, less than 15%, less than 14%, less than 13%, less than 12%, less than 11%, less than 10%, less than 9%, less than 8%, less than 7%, less than 6%, less than 5%, less than 4%, less than 3%, less than 2%, or less than 1% of anhydro-subunit containing oligosaccharides by relative abundance. In some embodiments, the oligosaccharide preparation comprises less than 10%, 9%, 8%, 7%, 6%, 5%, 4%, 3%, or 2% anhydro-subunit containing oligosaccharides by relative abundance. In other embodiments, the oligosaccharide preparation comprises greater than 0.5%, greater than 0.8%, greater than 1%, greater than 2%, greater than 3%, greater than 4%, greater than 5%, greater than 6%, greater than 7%, greater than 8%, greater than 9%, greater than 10%, greater than 11%, greater than 12%, greater than 13%, greater than 14%, greater than 15%, greater than 16%, greater than 17%, greater than 18%, greater than 19%, greater than 20%, greater than 30%, greater than 40%, greater than 50%, greater than 60%, greater than 70%, or greater than 80% anhydro-subunit containing oligosaccharides by relative abundance. In other embodiments, the oligosaccharide preparation comprises greater than 20%, 21%, 22%, 23%, 24%, 25%, 26%, 27%, 28%, 29%, or 30% anhydro-subunit containing oligosaccharides by relative abundance. In some embodiments, the oligosaccharide preparation comprises about 0.1%, about 0.2%, about 0.3%, about 0.4%, about 0.5%, about 0.6%, about 0.7%, about 0.8%, about 0.9%, about 1%, about 2%, about 3%, about 4%, about 5%, about 6%, about 7%, about 8%, about 9%, about 10%, about 11%, about 12%, about 13%, about 14%, about 15%, about 16%, about 17%, about 18%, about 19%, about 20%, about 21%, about 22%, about 23%, about 24%, about 25%, or about 30% of anhydro-subunit containing oligosaccharides by relative abundance. In some embodiments, the oligosaccharide preparation comprises about 0.1%, about 0.2%, about 0.3%, about 0.4%, about 0.5%, about 0.6%, about 0.7%, about 0.8%, about 0.9%, about 1%, about 2%, about 3%, about 4%, about 5%, about 6%, about 7%, about 8%, about 9%, or about 10% of anhydro-subunit containing oligosaccharides by relative abundance. In some embodiments, the oligosaccharide preparation comprises from about 0.1% to about 90%, from about 0.1% to about 15%, from about 0.5% to about 90%, from about 0.5% to about 80%, from about 0.5% to about 70%, from about 0.5% to about 60%, from about 0.5% to about 50%, from about 0.5% to about 40%, from about 0.5% to about 30%, from about 0.5% to about 20%, from about 0.5% to about 10%, from about 0.5% to about 9%, from about 0.5% to about 8%, from about 0.5% to about 7%, from about 0.5% to about 6%, from about 0.5% to about 5%, from about 0.5% to about 4%, from about 0.5% to about 3%, from about 0.5% to about 2%, from about 2% to about 9%, from about 2% to about 8%, from about 2% to about 7%, from about 2% to about 6%, from about 2% to about 5%, from about 2% to about 4%, from about 2% to about 3%, or from about 5% to about 10% of anhydro-subunit containing oligosaccharides by relative abundance.

[00662] In some embodiments, the DPI fraction of a herein described oligosaccharide preparation comprises less than 30%, less than 20%, less than 19%, less than 18%, less than 17%, less than 16%, less than 15%, less than 14%, less than 13%, less than 12%, less than 11%, less than 10%, less than 9%, less than 8%, less than 7%, less than 6%, less than 5%, less than 4%, less than 3%, less than 2%, or less than 1% of anhydro-subunit containing oligosaccharides by relative abundance. In some embodiments, the DPI fraction of a herein described oligosaccharide preparation comprises greater than 0.1%, greater than 0.5%, greater than 0.8%, greater than 1%, greater than 1.5%, greater than 2%, greater than 3%, greater than 4%, greater than 5%, greater than 6%, greater than 7%, greater than 8%, greater than 9%, greater than 10%, greater than 11%, greater than 12%, greater than 13%, greater than 14%, or greater than 15% of anhydro-subunit containing oligosaccharides by relative abundance. In some embodiments, the DPI fraction of a herein described oligosaccharide preparation comprises about 0.5%, about 1%, about 2%, about 3%, about 4%, about 5%, about 6%, about 7%, about 8%, about 9%, about 10%, about 11%, about 12%, about 13%, about 14%, about 15%, about 16%, about 17%, about 18%, about 19%, or about 20% of anhydro-subunit containing oligosaccharides by relative abundance. In some embodiments, the DPI fraction of a herein described oligosaccharide preparation comprises from about 0.1% to about 15%, from about 0.1% to about 20%, from about 0.5% to about 20%, from 0.5% to about 10%, from about 0.5% to about 15%, from about 1% to about 20%, from about 1% to about 15%, from about 1% to about 10%, from about 2% to about 14%, from about 3% to about 13%, from about 4% to about 12%, from about 5% to about 11%, from about 5% to about 10%, from about 6% to about 9%, or from about 7% to about 8% of anhydro-subunit containing oligosaccharides by relative abundance, or any ranges therebetween. In some embodiments, the DPI fraction of a herein described oligosaccharide preparation comprises from about 0.5% to about 10% of anhydro-subunit containing oligosaccharides by relative abundance. In some embodiments, the relative abundance of anhydro-subunit containing oligosaccharides is determined by mass spectrometry such as MALDI-MS. In some embodiments, the relative abundance of anhydro-subunit containing oligosaccharides is determined by LC-MS / MS. In some embodiments, the relative abundance of anhydro-subunit containing oligosaccharides is determined by GC-MS.

[00663] In some embodiments, the DP2 fraction of a herein described oligosaccharide preparation comprises less than 30%, less than 20%, less than 19%, less than 18%, less than 17%, less than 16%, less than 15%, less than 14%, less than 13%, less than 12%, less than 11%, less than 10%, less than 9%, less than 8%, less than 7%, less than 6%, less than 5%, less than 4%, less than 3%, less than 2%, or less than 1% of anhydro-subunit containing oligosaccharides by relative abundance. In some embodiments, the DP2 fraction of a herein described oligosaccharide preparation comprises greater than 0.1%, greater than 0.5%, greater than 0.8%, greater than 1%, greater than 1.5%, greater than 2%, greater than 3%, greater than 4%, greater than 5%, greater than 6%, greater than 7%, greater than 8%, greater than 9%, greater than 10%, greater than 11%, greater than 12%, greater than 13%, greater than 14%, or greater than 15% of anhydro-subunit containing oligosaccharides by relative abundance. In some embodiments, the DP2 fraction of a herein described oligosaccharide preparation comprises about 0.5%, about 1%, about 2%, about 3%, about 4%, about 5%, about 6%, about 7%, about 8%, about 9%, about 10%, about 11%, about 12%, about 13%, about 14%, about 15%, about 16%, about 17%, about 18%, about 19%, or about 20% of anhydro-subunit containing oligosaccharides by relative abundance. In some embodiments, the DP2 fraction of a herein described oligosaccharide preparation comprises from about 0.1% to about 15%, from about 0.1% to about 20%, from about 0.5% to about 20%, from 0.5% to about 10%, from about 0.5% to about 15%, from about 1% to about 20%, from about 1% to about 15%, from about 1% to about 10%, from about 2% to about 14%, from about 3% to about 13%, from about 4% to about 12%, from about 5% to about 11%, from about 0.5% to about 10%, from about 6% to about 9%, or from about 7% to about 8% of anhydro-subunit containing oligosaccharides by relative abundance, or any ranges therebetween. In some embodiments, the DP2 fraction of a herein described oligosaccharide preparation comprises from about 5% to about 10% of anhydro-subunit containing oligosaccharides by relative abundance. In some embodiments, the relative abundance of anhydro-subunit containing oligosaccharides is determined by mass spectrometry such as MALDI-MS. In some embodiments, the relative abundance of anhydro-subunit containing oligosaccharides is determined by LC-MS / MS. In some embodiments, the relative abundance of anhydro-subunit containing oligosaccharides is determined by GC-MS.

[00664] In some embodiments, the DP3 fraction of a herein described oligosaccharide preparation comprises less than 30%, less than 20%, less than 19%, less than 18%, less than 17%, less than 16%, less than 15%, less than 14%, less than 13%, less than 12%, less than 11%, less than 10%, less than 9%, less than 8%, less than 7%, less than 6%, less than 5%, less than 4%, less than 3%, less than 2%, or less than 1% of anhydro-subunit containing oligosaccharides by relative abundance. In some embodiments, the DP3 fraction of a herein described oligosaccharide preparation comprises greater than 0.1%, greater than 0.5%, greater than 0.8%, greater than 1%, greater than 1.5%, greater than 2%, greater than 3%, greater than 4%, greater than 5%, greater than 6%, greater than 7%, greater than 8%, greater than 9%, greater than 10%, greater than 11%, greater than 12%, greater than 13%, greater than 14%, or greater than 15% of anhydro-subunit containing oligosaccharides by relative abundance. In some embodiments, the DP3 fraction of a herein described oligosaccharide preparation comprises about 0.5%, about 1%, about 2%, about 3%, about 4%, about 5%, about 6%, about 7%, about 8%, about 9%, about 10%, about 11%, about 12%, about 13%, about 14%, about 15%, about 16%, about 17%, about 18%, about 19%, or about 20% of anhydro-subunit containing oligosaccharides by relative abundance. In some embodiments, the DP3 fraction of a herein described oligosaccharide preparation comprises from about 0.1% to about 15%, from about 0.1% to about 20%, from about 0.5% to about 20%, from 0.5% to about 10%, from about 0.5% to about 15%, from about 1% to about 20%, from about 1% to about 15%, from about 1% to about 10%, from about 2% to about 14%, from about 3% to about 13%, from about 4% to about 12%, from about 5% to about 11%, from about 5% to about 10%, from about 6% to about 9%, or from about 7% to about 8% of anhydro-subunit containing oligosaccharides by relative abundance, or any ranges therebetween. In some embodiments, the DP3 fraction of a herein described oligosaccharide preparation comprises from about 0.5% to about 10% of anhydro-subunit containing oligosaccharides by relative abundance. In some embodiments, the relative abundance of anhydro-subunit containing oligosaccharides is determined by mass spectrometry such as MALDI-MS. In some embodiments, the relative abundance of anhydro-subunit containing oligosaccharides is determined by LC-MS / MS. In some embodiments, the relative abundance of anhydro-subunit containing oligosaccharides is determined by GC-MS.

[00665] In some embodiments, an anhydro-subunit containing oligosaccharide comprises one or more anhydro-subunits. For instance, a DPI anhydro-subunit containing oligosaccharide comprises one anhydro-subunit. In some embodiments, a DPn anhydro-subunit containing oligosaccharide may comprise from 1 to n anhydro-subunits. For example, in some embodiments, a DP2 anhydro-subunit containing oligosaccharide comprises one or two anhydro-subunits. In some embodiments, each oligosaccharide in the oligosaccharide preparation independently comprises zero, one, or two anhydrosubunits. In some embodiments, more than 99%, 95%, 90%, 85%, 80%, 75%, 70%, 65%, 60%, 55%, 50%, 45%, 40%, 35%, or 30% of the anhydro-subunit containing oligosaccharides have only one anhydro-subunit. In some embodiments, more than 99%, 95%, 90%, 85%, or 80% of the anhydrosubunit containing oligosaccharides have only one anhydro-subunit.

[00666] In some embodiments, one or more oligosaccharides in the oligosaccharide preparation or in each fraction of the oligosaccharide preparation comprise 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, or 10 anhydro-subunits each linked via a glycosidic bond, wherein the glycosidic bonds linking each anhydro-subunit are independently chosen. In some embodiments, one or more oligosaccharides in the oligosaccharide preparation or in each fraction of the oligosaccharide preparation comprise 1, 2, or 3 anhydro-subunits each linked via a glycosidic bond, wherein the glycosidic bond linking each anhydro-subunit are independently chosen. In some embodiments, greater than 50%, 60%, 70%, 80%, 90%, or 99% of oligosaccharides in the oligosaccharide preparation or in each fraction comprise 1, 2, or 3 anhydrosubunits each linked via a glycosidic bond, wherein the glycosidic bond linking each anhydro-subunit are independently chosen. In some embodiments, one or more oligosaccharides in the oligosaccharide preparation or in each fraction comprise 1 anhydro-subunit linked via a glycosidic bond. In some embodiments, greater than 50%, greater than 60%, greater than 70%, greater than 80%, greater than 90%, or greater than 99% of oligosaccharides in the oligosaccharide preparation or in each fraction comprise 1 anhydro-subunit linked via a glycosidic bond. D. Anhydro-subunit Species

[00667] In some embodiments, the oligosaccharide preparation comprises different species of anhydro-subunits. In some embodiments, exemplary anhydro-subunit containing oligosaccharides are illustrated in FIG. 33, FIG. 21, and FIG. 22. In some embodiments, the oligosaccharide preparation comprises one or more anhydro-subunits that are products of thermal dehydration of monosaccharides, i.e., anhydro-monosaccharide subunits. In some embodiments, the oligosaccharide preparation comprises one or more anhydro-subunits that are products of reversible thermal dehydration of monosaccharides.

[00668] It is to be understood that an anhydro-monosaccharide (or an anhydro-monosaccharide subunit) refers to one or more species of the thermal dehydration products of the monosaccharide. For example, in some embodiments, an anhydro-glucose refers to 1,6-anhydro-P-D-glucopyranose (levoglucosan) or 1,6-anhydro-P-D-glucofuranose. In some embodiments, a plurality of anhydroglucose refer to a plurality of 1,6-anhydro-P-D-glucopyranose (levoglucosan), a plurality of 1,6-anhydro-P-D-glucofuranose, a plurality of other thermal dehydration products of glucose, or any combination thereof. Similarly, in some embodiments, a plurality of anhydro-galactose refers to a plurality of any thermal dehydration products of galactose, or any combination thereof.

[00669] In some embodiments, an oligosaccharide preparation as described herein comprises one or more anhydro-glucose, anhydro-galactose, anhydro-mannose, anhydro-allose, anhydro-altrose, anhydro-gulose, anhydro-indose, anhydro-talose, anhydro-fructose, anhydro-ribose, anhydroarabinose, anhydro-rhamnose, anhydro-lyxose, anhydro-xylose, or any combination of these subunits. In some embodiments, the oligosaccharide preparation comprises one or more anhydro-glucose, anhydro-galactose, anhydro-mannose, or anhydro-fructose subunits. In some embodiments, an oligosaccharide preparation as described herein comprises one or more of: l,6-anhydro-3-O-P-D-glucopyranosyl-P-D-glucopyranose, l,6-anhydro-3-O-a-D-glucopyranosyl-P-D-glucopyranose, 1,6-anhydro-2-O-P-D-glucopyranosyl-P-D-glucopyranose, l,6-anhydro-2-O-a-D-glucopyranosyl-P-D-glucopyranose, 1,6-anhydro-P-D-cellobiose (cellobiosan), 1,6-anhydro-P-D-cellotriose (cellotriosan), 1,6-anhydro-P-D-cellotetraose (cellotetraosan), 1,6-anhydro-P-D-cellopentaose (cellopentaosan), and 1,6-anhydro-P-D-maltose (maltosan).

[00670] In some embodiments, the oligosaccharide preparation comprises one or more 1,6-anhydro-P-D-glucofuranose subunits. In some embodiments, the oligosaccharide preparation comprises one or more 1,6-anhydro-P-D-glucopyranose (levoglucosan) subunits. For example, FIG. 33 illustrates two DPI anhydro-subunit containing oligosaccharides (levoglucosan and 1,6-anhydro-P-D-glucofuranose) and a DP2 anhydro-subunit containing oligosaccharide (anhydro-cellobiose).

[00671] The presence and the level of a species of anhydro-subunit may vary based on the feed sugars used to manufacture the oligosaccharide. For instance, in some embodiments, gluco-oligosaccharides comprise anhydro-glucose subunits, galacto-oligosaccharides comprise anhydro-galactose subunits, and gluco-galacto-oligosaccharides comprise anhydro-glucose and anhydro-galactose subunits.

[00672] In some embodiments, the oligosaccharide preparation comprises both 1,6-anhydro-P-D-glucofuranose and 1,6-anhydro-P-D-glucopyranose anhydro-subunits. In some embodiments, at least 0.1%, 1%, 5%, 10%, 20%, 30%, 40%, 50%, 60%, 70%, 80%, 90%, or 99% of anhydro-subunits are selected from a group consisting of 1,6-anhydro-P-D-glucofuranose and 1,6-anhydro-P-D-glucopyranose. In some embodiments, at least 1%, 5%, 10%, 20%, 30%, 40%, 50%, 60%, 70%, 80%, or 90% of anhydro-subunits are 1,6-anhydro-P-D-glucofuranose. In some embodiments, at least 1%, 5%, 10%, 20%, 30%, 40%, 50%, or 60% of anhydro-subunits are 1,6-anhydro-P-D-glucopyranose.

[00673] In some embodiments, the ratio of 1,6-anhydro-P-D-glucofuranose to 1,6-anhydro-P-D-glucopyranose is from about 10:1 to 1:10, 9:1 to 1:10, 8:1 to 1:10, 7:1 to 1:10, 6:1 to 1:10, 5:1 to 1:10, 4:1 to 1:10, 3:1 to 1:10, 2:1 to 1:10, 10:1 to 1:9, 10:1 to 1:8, 10:1 to 1:7, 10:1 to 1:6, 10:1 to 1:5, 10:1 to 1:4, 10:1 to 1:3, 10:1 to 1:2, or 1:1 to 3:1 in the preparation. In some embodiments, the ratio of 1,6-anhydro-P-D-glucofuranose to 1,6-anhydro-P-D-glucopyranose is about 10:1, 9:1, 8:1, 7:1, 6:1, 5:1, 4:1, 3:1, 2:1, 1:1, 1:2, 1:3, 1:4, 1:5, 1:6, 1:7, 1:8, 1:8, 1:9, or 1:10 in the preparation. In some embodiments, the ratio of 1,6-anhydro-P-D-glucofuranose to 1,6-anhydro-P-D-glucopyranose is about 2:1 in the preparation.

[00674] In some embodiments, the ratio of 1,6-anhydro-P-D-glucofuranose to 1,6-anhydro-P-D-glucopyranose is about from 10:1 to 1:10, 9:1 to 1:10, 8:1 to 1:10, 7:1 to 1:10, 6:1 to 1:10, 5:1 to 1:10, 4:1 to 1:10, 3:1 to 1:10, 2:1 to 1:10, 10:1 to 1:9, 10:1 to 1:8, 10:1 to 1:7, 10:1 to 1:6, 10:1 to 1:5, 10:1 to 1:4, 10:1 to 1:3, 10:1 to 1:2, or 1:1 to 3:1 in each fraction. In some embodiments, the ratio of 1,6-anhydro-P-D-glucofuranose to 1,6-anhydro-P-D-glucopyranose is about 10:1, 9:1, 8:1, 7:1, 6:1, 5:1, 4:1, 3:1, 2:1, 1:1, 1:2, 1:3, 1:4, 1:5, 1:6, 1:7, 1:8, 1:8, 1:9, or 1:10 in each fraction. In some embodiments, the ratio of 1,6-anhydro-P-D-glucofuranose to 1,6-anhydro-P-D-glucopyranose is about 2:1 in each fraction.

[00675] In some embodiments, the ratio of 1,6-anhydro-P-D-glucofuranose to 1,6-anhydro-P-D-glucopyranose is about from 10:1 to 1:10, 9:1 to 1:10, 8:1 to 1:10, 7:1 to 1:10, 6:1 to 1:10, 5:1 to 1:10, 4:1 to 1:10, 3:1 to 1:10, 2:1 to 1:10, 10:1 to 1:9, 10:1 to 1:8, 10:1 to 1:7, 10:1 to 1:6, 10:1 to 1:5, 10:1 to 1:4, 10:1 to 1:3, 10:1 to 1:2, or 1:1 to 3:1 in at least one fraction. In some embodiments, the ratio of 1,6-anhydro-P-D-glucofuranose to 1,6-anhydro-P-D-glucopyranose is about 10:1, 9:1, 8:1, 7:1, 6:1, 5:1, 4:1, 3:1, 2:1, 1:1, 1:2, 1:3, 1:4, 1:5, 1:6, 1:7, 1:8, 1:8, 1:9, or 1:10 in at least one fraction. In some embodiments, the ratio of 1,6-anhydro-P-D-glucofuranose to 1,6-anhydro-P-D-glucopyranose is about 2:1 in at least one fraction.

[00676] In some embodiments, a herein described oligosaccharide preparation comprises anhydrosubunit containing DP2 oligosaccharides. In some embodiments, the oligosaccharide preparation comprises anhydro-lactose, anhydro-sucrose, anhydro-cellobiose, or a combination thereof. In some embodiment, the oligosaccharide preparation comprises from about 2 to 20, 2 to 15, 5 to 20, 5 to 15, or 5 to 10 species of DP2 anhydro-subunit containing oligosaccharides. In some embodiments, an oligosaccharide preparation described herein does not comprise cellobiosan or does not comprise a detectable level of cellobiosan.

[00677] In some embodiments, a herein described oligosaccharide preparation comprises one or more anhydro-subunits that are sugar caramelization products. In some embodiments, the oligosaccharide preparation comprises one or more anhydro-subunits are sugar caramelization products selected from the group consisting of: methanol; ethanol; furan; methyl glyoxal; 2-methyl furan; vinyl acetate; glycolaldehyde; acetic acid; acetol; furfural; 2-furanmethanol; 3-furanmethanol; 2-hydroxy cyclopent-2-en-l-one; 5-methyl furfural; 2(5H)-furanone; 2 methyl cyclopentenol one; levoglucosenone; cyclic hydroxyl lactone; 1,4,3,6-dianhydro-a-D-glucopyranose; dianhydro glucopyranose; and 5-hydroxy methyl furfural (5-hmf). In some embodiments, the oligosaccharide preparation comprises 5-hmf anhydro- subunits.

[00678] In some embodiments, in the oligosaccharide preparation or in at least one of the DP fractions, the anhydro-subunits that are caramelization products are less abundant than the anhydro-subunits that are products of thermal dehydration of a monosaccharide. In some embodiments, in the oligosaccharide preparation or in at least one of the fractions, the anhydro-subunits that are caramelization products are more abundant than the anhydro-subunits that are products of thermal dehydration of a monosaccharide. In some embodiments, in the oligosaccharide preparation or in at least one of the fractions, anhydro-subunits that are caramelization products and anhydro-subunits that are products of thermal dehydration of a monosaccharide have similar abundance.

[00679] In some embodiments, from about 0.01% to about 50%, from about 0.01% to about 40%, from about 0.01% to about 30%, from about 0.01% to about 20%, from about 0.01% to about 10%, from about 0.01% to about 5%, from about 0.01% to about 4%, from about 0.01% to about 3%, from about 0.01% to about 2%, from about 0.01% to about 1%, from about 0.01% to about 0.5%, from about 0.1% to about 50%, from about 0.1% to about 40%, from about 0.1% to about 30%, from about 0.1% to about 20%, from about 0.1% to about 10%, from about 0.1% to about 5%, from about 0.1% to about 4%, from about 0.1% to about 3%, from about 0.1% to about 2%, from about 0.1% to about 1%, or from about 0.1% to about 0.5% of the anhydro-subunits in a herein described oligosaccharide preparation are caramelization products. In some embodiments, from about 0.1% to about 5%, from about 0.1% to about 2 %, or from about 0.1% to about 1% of the anhydro-subunits in the oligosaccharide preparation are caramelization products. In some embodiments, less than 50%, less than 40%, less than 30%, less than 25%, less than 20%, less than 15%, less than 14%, less than 13%, less than 12%, less than 11%, less than 10%, less than 9%, less than 8%, less than 7%, less than 6%, less than 5%, less than 4%, less than 3%, less than 2%, or less than 1% of the anhydro-subunits in the oligosaccharide preparation are caramelization products.

[00680] In some embodiments, from about 0.01% to about 50%, from about 0.01% to about 40%, from about 0.01% to about 30%, from about 0.01% to about 20%, from about 0.01% to about 10%, from about 0.01% to about 5%, from about 0.01% to about 4%, from about 0.01% to about 3%, from about 0.01% to about 2%, from about 0.01% to about 1%, from about 0.01% to about 0.5%, from about 0.1% to about 50%, from about 0.1% to about 40%, from about 0.1% to about 30%, from about 0.1% to about 20%, from about 0.1% to about 10%, from about 0.1% to about 5%, from about 0.1% to about 4%, from about 0.1% to about 3%, from about 0.1% to about 2%, from about 0.1% to about 1%, or from about 0.1% to about 0.5% of the anhydro-subunits in at least one fraction (e.g., DPI, DP2 and / or DP3) of a herein described preparation are caramelization products. In some embodiments, from about 0.1% to about 5%, from about 0.1% to about 2 %, or from about 0.1% to about 1% of the anhydrosubunits in at least one fraction (e.g., DPI, DP2 and / or DP3) of the preparation are caramelization products. In some embodiments, less than 50%, 40%, 30%, 25%, 20%, 15%, 14%, 13%, 12%, 11%, 10%, 9%, 8%, 7%, 6%, 5%, 4%, 3%, 2%, or 1% of the anhydro-subunits in at least one fraction of the preparation are caramelization products. In some embodiments, less than 20%, less than 15%, less than 14%, less than 13%, less than 12%, less than 11%, less than 10%, less than 9%, less than 8%, less than 7%, less than 6%, less than 5%, less than 4%, less than 3%, less than 2%, or less than 1% of the anhydro-subunits in the DPI, DP2, and / or DP3 fractions of a herein described oligosaccharide preparation are caramelization products.

[00681] In some embodiments, from about 0.01% to about 50%, from about 0.01% to about 40%, from about 0.01% to about 30%, from about 0.01% to about 20%, from about 0.01% to about 10%, from about 0.01% to about 5%, from about 0.01% to about 4%, from about 0.01% to about 3%, from about 0.01% to about 2%, from about 0.01% to about 1%, from about 0.01% to about 0.5%, from about 0.1% to about 50%, from about 0.1% to about 40%, from about 0.1% to about 30%, from about 0.1% to about 20%, from about 0.1% to about 10%, from about 0.1% to about 5%, from about 0.1% to about 4%, from about 0.1% to about 3%, from about 0.1% to about 2%, from about 0.1% to about 1%, or from about 0.1% to about 0.5% of the anhydro-subunits in each fraction of a herein described oligosaccharide preparation are caramelization products. In some embodiments, from about 0.1% to about 5%, from about 0.1% to about 2 %, or from about 0.1% to about 1% of the anhydro-subunits in each fraction of the preparation are caramelization products. In some embodiments, less than 50%, less than 40%, less than 30%, less than 20%, less than 25%, less than 20%, less than 15%, less than 14%, less than 13%, less than 12%, less than 11%, less than 10%, less than 9%, less than 8%, less than 7%, less than 6%, less than 5%, less than 4%, less than 3%, less than 2%, or less than 1% of the anhydro-subunits in each fraction of the preparation are caramelization products.

[00682] In some embodiments, each of the oligosaccharides in a herein described oligosaccharide preparation independently and optionally comprises an anhydro-subunit. In some embodiments, two or more independent oligosaccharides comprise the same or different anhydro-subunits. In some embodiments, two or more independent oligosaccharides comprise different anhydro-subunits. For example, in some embodiments, the oligosaccharide preparation comprises a DPI anhydro-subunit containing oligosaccharide that comprises a 1,6-anhydro-P-D-glucopyranose and a DP2 anhydrosubunit containing oligosaccharide that comprises a 1,6-anhydro-P-D-glucofuranose subunit. In some embodiments, one or more oligosaccharides in the oligosaccharide preparation comprise two or more the same or different anhydro-subunits.

[00683] In some embodiments, in any fraction of the oligosaccharide preparation that has a degree of polymerization equal or greater than 2 (i.e., DP2 to DPn fractions), an anhydro-subunit may be linked to one or more regular or anhydro-subunits. In some embodiments, in the DP2 to DPn fractions, at least one anhydro-subunit is linked to one, two, or three other regular or anhydro-subunits. In some embodiments, in the DP2 to DPn fractions, at least one anhydro-subunit is linked to one or two regular subunits. In some embodiments, in the DP2 to DPn fractions, at least one anhydro-subunit is linked to one regular subunit. In some embodiments, in any of the DP2 to DPn fractions, more than 99%, 90%, 80%, 70%, 60%, 50%, 40%, or 30% of anhydro-subunits are linked to one regular subunit. In some embodiments, in each of the DP2 to DPn fraction, more than 99%, 90%, 80%, 70%, 60%, 50%, 40%, or 30% of anhydro-subunits are linked to one regular subunit.

[00684] In some embodiments, in any fraction of the oligosaccharide preparation that has a degree of polymerization equal or greater than 2 (i.e., DP2 to DPn fractions), an anhydro-subunit can be located at a chain-end of an oligosaccharide. In some embodiments, in any fraction of the oligosaccharide preparation that has a degree of polymerization equal or greater than 3 (i.e., DP3 to DPn fractions), an anhydro-subunit can be located at a position that is not a chain-end of an oligosaccharide. In some embodiments, in the DP2 to DPn fractions, at least one of the anhydro-subunits is located at the chainend of an oligosaccharide. In some embodiments, greater than 99%, 95%, 90%, 85%, 80%, 75%, 70%, 65%, 60%, 55%, 50%, 45%, 40%, 35%, or 30% of the anhydro-subunits in the DP2 to DPn fractions are located at the chain-end of the oligosaccharides. In some embodiments, greater than 95%, 90%, 80%, 70%, 60%, 50%, 40%, 30%, 20%, or 10% of the anhydro-subunits in the oligosaccharide preparation are located at the chain-end of the oligosaccharides. In some embodiments, greater than 30%, 40%, 50%, 60%, 70%, 80%, 90%, 95%, or 99% of the anhydro-subunit containing oligosaccharides comprise a chain-end anhydro-subunit. In some embodiments, greater than 80%, 85%, 90%, 91%, 92%, 93%, 94%, 95%, 96%, 97%, 98%, or 99% of the anhydro-subunit containing oligosaccharides comprise a chain-end anhydro-subunit. E. Glycosidic Linkages

[00685] In some embodiments, a herein described oligosaccharide preparation comprises a variety of glycosidic linkages. The type and distribution of the glycosidic linkages can depend on the source and manufacturing method of the oligosaccharide preparation. In some embodiments, the type and distribution of various glycosidic linkages can be determined and / or detected by any suitable methods known in the art such as NMR. For example, in some embodiments, the glycosidic linkages are determined and / or detected by 'H NMR, 13C NMR, 2D NMR such as 2D JRES, HSQC, HMBC, DOSY, COSY, ECOSY, TOCSY, NOESY, or ROESY, or any combination thereof. In some embodiments, the glycosidic linkages are determined and / or detected, at least in part, by 3H NMR. In some embodiments, the glycosidic linkages are determined and / or detected, at least in part, by 13C NMR. In some embodiments, the glycosidic linkages are determined and / or detected, at least in part, by 2D 'H, 13C- HSQC NMR.

[00686] In some embodiments, a herein described oligosaccharide preparation comprises one or more a-(l,2) glycosidic linkages, a-(l,3) glycosidic linkages, a-(l,4) glycosidic linkages, a-(l,6) glycosidic linkages, 3-(1,2) glycosidic linkages, [3-(1,3) glycosidic linkages, [3-(1,4) glycosidic linkages, [3-(1,6) glycosidic linkages, a-(l,l)-a glycosidic linkages, a-(l,l)-3 glycosidic linkages, 3-(1,1)-3 glycosidic linkages, or any combination thereof.

[00687] In some embodiments, the oligosaccharide preparations have a glycosidic bond type distribution of from about 0 to about 60 mol%, from about 5% to about 55 mol%, from about 5% to about 50 mol%, from about 5% to about 45 mol%, from about 5% to about 40 mol%, from about 5% to about 35 mol%, from about 5% to about 30 mol%, from about 5% to about 25 mol%, from about 10% to about 60 mol%, from about 10% to about 55 mol%, from about 10% to about 50 mol%, from about 10% to about 45 mol%, from about 10% to about 40 mol%, from about 10% to about 35 mol%, from about 15% to about 60 mol%, from about 15% to about 55 mol%, from about 15% to about 50 mol%, from about 15% to about 45 mol%, from about 15% to about 40 mol%, from about 15% to about 35 mol%, from about 20% to about 60 mol%, from about 20% to about 55 mol%, from about 20% to about 50 mol%, from about 20% to about 45 mol%, from about 20% to about 40 mol%, from about 20% to about 35 mol%, from about 25% to about 60 mol%, from about 25% to about 55 mol%, from about 25% to about 50 mol%, from about 25% to about 45 mol%, from about 25% to about 40 mol%, or from about 25% to about 35 mol% of a-(l,6) glycosidic linkages.

[00688] In some embodiments, the oligosaccharide preparations have a glycosidic bond type distribution of from about 0 to about 50 mol%, from about 0 to about 40 mol%, from about 0 to about 35 mol%, from about 0 to about 30 mol%, from about 0 to about 25 mol%, from about 0 to about 20 mol%, from about 5% to about 40 mol%, from about 5% to about 35 mol%, from about 5% to about 30 mol%, from about 5% to about 25 mol%, from about 5% to about 20 mol%, from about 10% to about 40 mol%, from about 10% to about 35 mol%, from about 10% to about 20 mol%, from about 15% to about 40 mol%, from about 15% to about 35 mol%, from about 15% to about 30 mol%, from about 15% to about 25 mol%, or from about 15% to about 20 mol% of a-(l,3) glycosidic linkages.

[00689] In some embodiments, the oligosaccharide preparations have a glycosidic bond type distribution of from about 0 to about 40 mol%, from about 0 to about 35 mol%, from about 0 to about 30 mol%, from about 0 to about 25 mol%, from about 0 to about 20 mol%, from about 0 to about 15 mol%, from about 0 to about 10 mol%, from about 2% to about 30 mol%, from about 2% to about 25 mol%, from about 2% to about 20 mol%, from about 2% to about 15 mol%, from about 2% to about 10 mol%, from about 3% to about 30 mol%, from about 3% to about 25 mol%, from about 3% to about 20 mol%, from about 3% to about 15 mol%, from about 3% to about 10 mol%, from about 5% to about 30 mol%, from about 5% to about 25 mol%, from about 5% to about 20 mol%, from about 5% to about 15 mol%, or from about 5% to about 10 mol% of a-(l,2) glycosidic linkages.

[00690] In some embodiments, the oligosaccharide preparations have a glycosidic bond type distribution of from about 0 to about 40 mol%, from about 0 to about 30 mol%, from about 0 to about 25 mol%, from about 0 to about 20 mol%, from about 0 to about 15 mol%, from about 0 to about 10 mol%, or from about 0 to about 5 mol% of a-(l,4) glycosidic linkages. In some embodiments, the oligosaccharide preparations have a glycosidic bond type distribution of less than 40 mol%, less than 30 mol%, less than 20 mol%, less than 15 mol%, less than 10 mol%, less than 9 mol%, less than 8 mol%, less than 7 mol%, less than 6 mol%, less than 5 mol%, less than 4 mol%, less than 3 mol%, or less than 2 mol% of a-(l,4) glycosidic linkages.

[00691] In some embodiments, the oligosaccharide preparations have a glycosidic bond type distribution of from about 0 to about 40 mol%, from about 0 to about 35 mol%, from about 0 to about 30 mol%, from about 0 to about 25 mol%, from about 0 to about 20 mol%, from about 0 to about 15 mol%, from about 0 to about 10 mol%, from about 2% to about 30 mol%, from about 2% to about 25 mol%, from about 2% to about 20 mol%, from about 2% to about 15 mol%, from about 2% to about 10 mol%, from about 5% to about 30 mol%, from about 5% to about 25 mol%, from about 5% to about 20 mol%, from about 5% to about 15 mol%, from about 5% to about 10 mol%, from about 8% to about 30 mol%, from about 8% to about 25 mol%, from about 8% to about 20 mol%, from about 8% to about 15 mol%, or from about 10% to about 15 mol% of 3-(1,6) glycosidic linkages.

[00692] In some embodiments, the oligosaccharide preparations have a glycosidic bond type distribution of from about 0 to about 40 mol%, from about 0 to about 35 mol%, from about 0 to about 30 mol%, from about 0 to about 25 mol%, from about 0 to about 20 mol%, from about 0 to about 15 mol%, from about 0 to about 10 mol%, from about 2% to about 30 mol%, from about 2% to about 25 mol%, from about 2% to about 20 mol%, from about 2% to about 15 mol%, from about 2% to about 10 mol%, from about 3% to about 30 mol%, from about 3% to about 25 mol%, from about 3% to about 20 mol%, from about 3% to about 15 mol%, from about 3% to about 10 mol%, from about 5% to about 30 mol%, from about 5% to about 25 mol%, from about 5% to about 20 mol%, from about 5% to about 15 mol%, or from about 5% to about 10 mol% of 3-(1,4) glycosidic linkages.

[00693] In some embodiments, the oligosaccharide preparations have a glycosidic bond type distribution of from about 0 to about 40 mol%, from about 0 to about 30 mol%, from about 0 to about 25 mol%, from about 0 to about 20 mol%, from about 0 to about 15 mol%, from about 0 to about 10 mol%, from about 0 to about 5 mol%, from about 1% to about 20 mol%, from about 1% to about 15 mol%, from about 1% to about 10 mol%, from about 1% to about 5 mol%, from about 2% to about 20 mol%, from about 2% to about 15 mol%, from about 2% to about 10 mol%, or from about 2% to about 5 mol% of 3-(1,2) glycosidic linkages. In some embodiments, the oligosaccharide preparations have a glycosidic bond type distribution of less than 40 mol%, less than 30 mol%, less than 20 mol%, less than 15 mol%, less than 10 mol%, less than 9 mol%, less than 8 mol%, less than 7 mol%, less than 6 mol%, less than 5 mol%, less than 4 mol%, less than 3 mol%, or less than 2 mol% of 3-(1,2) glycosidic linkages.

[00694] In some embodiments, the oligosaccharide preparations have a glycosidic bond type distribution of from about 0 to about 40 mol%, from about 0 to about 30 mol%, from about 0 to about 25 mol%, from about 0 to about 20 mol%, from about 0 to about 15 mol%, from about 0 to about 10 mol%, from about 0 to about 5 mol%, from about 1% to about 20 mol%, from about 1% to about 15 mol%, from about 1% to about 10 mol%, from about 1% to about 5 mol%, from about 2% to about 20 mol%, from about 2% to about 15 mol%, from about 2% to about 10 mol%, or from about 2% to about 5 mol% of 3-(1,3) glycosidic linkages. In some embodiments, the oligosaccharide preparations have a glycosidic bond type distribution of less than 40 mol%, less than 30 mol%, less than 20 mol%, less than 15 mol%, less than 10 mol%, less than 9 mol%, less than 8 mol%, less than 7 mol%, less than 6 mol%, less than 5 mol%, less than 4 mol%, less than 3 mol%, or less than 2 mol% of 3-(1,3) glycosidic linkages.

[00695] In some embodiments, the oligosaccharide preparations have a glycosidic bond type distribution that is different from a glycosidic bond type distribution of non-synthetic oligosaccharide preparations. For example, in some embodiments, the oligosaccharide preparations have a glycosidic bond type distribution that is different from that of the base nutritional compositions. In some embodiments, the base nutritional compositions comprise a natural carbohydrate source, such as starch and plant fibers. Some of the natural carbohydrate sources have a high percentage of a-(l,4), a-(l,6), and / or 3-(1,6) glycosidic linkages. Accordingly, in some embodiments, the oligosaccharide preparations have a lower percentage of a-(l,4) glycosidic linkages than the base nutritional composition. In some embodiments, the oligosaccharide preparations have a lower percentage of a-(1,6) glycosidic linkages than the base nutritional composition. In other embodiments, the oligosaccharide preparations have a higher percentage of a-(l,6) glycosidic linkages than the base nutritional composition. In some embodiments, the oligosaccharide preparations have a lower percentage of 3-(1,6) glycosidic linkages than the base nutritional composition. In some embodiments, the oligosaccharide preparation comprises glycosidic linkages that are not readily digestible or hydrolysable by enzymes.

[00696] Specifically, in some embodiments, the a-(l,2), a-(l,3), a-(l,4), a-(l,6), 3-(1,2), 3-(1,3), 3(1,4), and / or 3-(1,6) glycosidic linkages in the glycosidic bond type distribution of a herein described oligosaccharide preparations is at least 50 mol%, at least 40 mol%, at least 30 mol%, at least 20 mol%, at least 15 mol%, at least 10 mol%, at least 5 mol%, at least 2 mol%, or at least 1 mol% lower than that of the base nutritional composition. In some embodiments, the a-(l,2), a-(l,3), a-(l,4), a-(l,6), 3(1,2), 3-(1,3), 3-(1,4), and / or 3-(1,6) glycosidic linkages in the glycosidic bond type distribution of the oligosaccharide preparations is at least 50 mol%, at least 40 mol%, at least 30 mol%, at least 20 mol%, at least 15 mol%, at least 10 mol%, at least 5 mol%, at least 2 mol%, or at least 1 mol% higher than that of the base nutritional composition.

[00697] It should be understood by one of skill in the art that certain types of glycosidic linkages may not be applicable to oligosaccharides comprising certain type of monosaccharides. For example, in some embodiments, the oligosaccharide preparation comprises a-(l,2) glycosidic linkages and a-(l,6) glycosidic linkages. In other embodiments, the oligosaccharide preparation comprises a-(l,2) glycosidic linkages and 3-(1,3) glycosidic linkages. In some embodiments, the oligosaccharide preparation comprises a-(l,2) glycosidic linkages, a-(l,3) glycosidic linkages, and 3-(1,6) glycosidic linkages. In some embodiments, the oligosaccharide preparation comprises a-(l,2) glycosidic linkages, a-(l,3) glycosidic linkages, a-(l,4) glycosidic linkages, a-(l,6) glycosidic linkages, 3-(1,2) glycosidic linkages, 3-(1,3) glycosidic linkages, 3-(1,4) glycosidic linkages, and 3-(1,6) glycosidic linkages. F. Molecular Weight

[00698] The molecular weight and molecular weight distribution of the oligosaccharide preparation may be determined by any suitable analytical means and instrumentation, such as end group method, osmotic pressure (osmometry), ultracentrifugation, viscosity measurements, light scattering method, SEC, SEC-MALLS, FFF, A4F, HPLC, and mass spectrometry. In some embodiments, the molecular weight and molecular weight distribution are determined by mass spectrometry, such as MALDI-MS, LC-MS, or GC-MS. In some embodiments, the molecular weight and molecular weight distribution are determined by size exclusion chromatography (SEC), such as gel permeation chromatography (GPC). In other embodiments, the molecular weight and molecular weight distribution are determined by HPLC. In some embodiments, the molecular weight and molecular weight distribution are determined by MALDI-MS.

[00699] In some embodiments, a herein described oligosaccharide preparation has a weight average molecular weight of from about 100 to about 10000 g / mol, from about 200 to about 8000 g / mol, from about 300 to about 5000 g / mol, from about 500 to about 5000 g / mol, from about 700 to about 5000 g / mol, from about 900 to about 5000 g / mol, from about 1100 to about 5000 g / mol, from about 1300 to about 5000 g / mol, from about 1500 to about 5000 g / mol, from about 1700 to about 5000 g / mol, from about 300 to about 4500 g / mol, from about 500 to about 4500 g / mol, from about 700 to about 4500 g / mol, from about 900 to about 4500 g / mol, from about 1100 to about 4500 g / mol, from about 1300 to about 4500 g / mol, from about 1500 to about 4500 g / mol, from about 1700 to about 4500 g / mol, from about 1900 to about 4500 g / mol, from about 300 to about 4000 g / mol, from about 500 to about 4000 g / mol, from about 700 to about 4000 g / mol, from about 900 to about 4000 g / mol, from about 1100 to about 4000 g / mol, from about 1300 to about 4000 g / mol, from about 1500 to about 4000 g / mol, from about 1700 to about 4000 g / mol, from about 1900 to about 4000 g / mol, from about 300 to about 3000 g / mol, from about 500 to about 3000 g / mol, from about 700 to about 3000 g / mol, from about 900 to about 3000 g / mol, from about 1100 to about 3000 g / mol, from about 1300 to about 3000 g / mol, from about 1500 to about 3000 g / mol, from about 1700 to about 3000 g / mol, from about 1900 to about 3000 g / mol, from about 2100 to about 3000 g / mol, from about 300 to about 2500 g / mol, from about 500 to about 2500 g / mol, from about 700 to about 2500 g / mol, from about 900 to about 2500 g / mol, from about 1100 to about 2500 g / mol, from about 1300 to about 2500 g / mol, from about 1500 to about 2500 g / mol, from about 1700 to about 2500 g / mol, from about 1900 to about 2500 g / mol, from about 2100 to about 2500 g / mol, from about 300 to about 1500 g / mol, from about 500 to about 1500 g / mol, from about 700 to about 1500 g / mol, from about 900 to about 1500 g / mol, from about 1100 to about 1500 g / mol, from about 1300 to about 1500 g / mol, from about 2000 to about 2800 g / mol, from about 2100 to about 2700 g / mol, from about 2200 to about 2600 g / mol, from about 2300 to about 2500 g / mol, or from about 2320 to about 2420 g / mol. In some embodiments, the weight average molecular weight of the oligosaccharide preparation is from about 2000 to about 2800 g / mol, from about 2100 to about 2700 g / mol, from about 2200 to about 2600 g / mol, from about 2300 to about 2500 g / mol, or from about 2320 to about 2420 g / mol. In some embodiments, the oligosaccharide preparation has a weight average molecular weight in a range from at least 500 g / mol, 750 g / mol, 1000 g / mol, or 1500 g / mol to at most 1750 g / mol, 2000 g / mol, 2250 g / mol, 2500 g / mol, or 3000 g / mol. In some embodiments, the weight average molecular weight of a herein described oligosaccharide preparation is determined by HPLC according to Example 9.

[00700] In some embodiments, a herein described oligosaccharide preparation has a number average molecular weight of from about 100 to about 10000 g / mol, from about 200 to about 8000 g / mol, from about 300 to about 5000 g / mol, from about 500 to about 5000 g / mol, from about 700 to about 5000 g / mol, from about 900 to about 5000 g / mol, from about 1100 to about 5000 g / mol, from about 1300 to about 5000 g / mol, from about 1500 to about 5000 g / mol, from about 1700 to about 5000 g / mol, from about 300 to about 4500 g / mol, from about 500 to about 4500 g / mol, from about 700 to about 4500 g / mol, from about 900 to about 4500 g / mol, from about 1100 to about 4500 g / mol, from about 1300 to about 4500 g / mol, from about 1500 to about 4500 g / mol, from about 1700 to about 4500 g / mol, from about 1900 to about 4500 g / mol, from about 300 to about 4000 g / mol, from about 500 to about 4000 g / mol, from about 700 to about 4000 g / mol, from about 900 to about 4000 g / mol, from about 1100 to about 4000 g / mol, from about 1300 to about 4000 g / mol, from about 1500 to about 4000 g / mol, from about 1700 to about 4000 g / mol, from about 1900 to about 4000 g / mol, from about 300 to about 3000 g / mol, from about 500 to about 3000 g / mol, from about 700 to about 3000 g / mol, from about 900 to about 3000 g / mol, from about 1100 to about 3000 g / mol, from about 1300 to about 3000 g / mol, from about 1500 to about 3000 g / mol, from about 1700 to about 3000 g / mol, from about 1900 to about 3000 g / mol, from about 2100 to about 3000 g / mol, from about 300 to about 2500 g / mol, from about 500 to about 2500 g / mol, from about 700 to about 2500 g / mol, from about 900 to about 2500 g / mol, from about 1100 to about 2500 g / mol, from about 1300 to about 2500 g / mol, from about 1500 to about 2500 g / mol, from about 1700 to about 2500 g / mol, from about 1900 to about 2500 g / mol, from about 2100 to about 2500 g / mol, from about 300 to about 2000 g / mol, from about 500 to about 300 to 2000 g / mol, from about 700 to about 2000 g / mol, from about 900 to about 2000 g / mol, from about 1100 to about 2000 g / mol, from about 300 to about 1500 g / mol, from about 500 to about 1500 g / mol, from about 700 to about 1500 g / mol, from about 900 to about 1500 g / mol, from about 1100 to about 1500 g / mol, from about 1300 to about 1500 g / mol, from about 1000 to about 2000 g / mol, from about 1100 to about 1900 g / mol, from about 1200 to about 1800 g / mol, from about 1300 to about 1700 g / mol, from about 1400 to about 1600 g / mol, or from about 1450 to about 1550 g / mol. In some embodiments, the number average molecular weight of the oligosaccharide preparation is from about 1000 to about 2000 g / mol, from about 1100 to about 1900 g / mol, from about 1200 to about 1800 g / mol, from about 1300 to about 1700 g / mol, 1400 to 1600 g / mol, or 1450-1550 g / mol. In some embodiments, the oligosaccharide preparation has a number average molecular weight in a range from at least 500 g / mol, 750 g / mol, 1000 g / mol, or 1500 g / mol to at most 1750 g / mol, 2000 g / mol, 2250 g / mol, 2500 g / mol, or 3000 g / mol. In some embodiments, the number average molecular weight of a herein described oligosaccharide preparation is determined by HPLC according to Example 9. G. Types of Oligosaccharides

[00701] The species of oligosaccharides present in an oligosaccharide preparation can depend on the type of the one or more feed sugars. For example, in some embodiments, the oligosaccharide preparations comprise a gluco-oligosaccharide when the feed sugars comprise glucose. For example, in some embodiments, the oligosaccharide preparations comprise a galacto-oligosaccharide when the feed sugars comprise galactose. For another example, in some embodiments, the oligosaccharide preparations comprise gluco-galacto-oligosaccharides when the feed sugars comprise galactose and glucose.

[00702] In some embodiments, a herein described oligosaccharide preparation comprises one or more species of monosaccharide subunits. In some embodiments, the oligosaccharide preparation comprises oligosaccharides with 1, 2, 3, 4, 5,6,7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, or more different species of monosaccharides subunits.

[00703] In some embodiments, the oligosaccharide preparation comprises oligosaccharides with 1, 2, 3, or 4 different species of monosaccharides subunits. In some embodiments, the oligosaccharide preparation comprises oligosaccharides with 1, 2, or 3 different species of monosaccharides subunits. In some embodiments, the oligosaccharide preparation comprises oligosaccharides with 3 different species of monosaccharides subunits. In some embodiments, the oligosaccharide preparation comprises oligosaccharides with 2 different species of monosaccharides subunits. In some embodiments, the oligosaccharide preparation comprises one species of monosaccharides subunits.

[00704] In some embodiments, the oligosaccharide preparation comprises different species of oligosaccharides that each oligosaccharide molecule independently comprises 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, or 10 different species of monosaccharides subunits. In some embodiments, a herein described oligosaccharide preparation comprises 102,103,104,105, or more different species of oligosaccharides. In some embodiments, some of the oligosaccharides in the preparation comprise one species of monosaccharide subunits and some other oligosaccharides in the same preparation comprise two or more species of monosaccharides subunits. For instance, in some embodiments, when the feed sugars are glucose and galactose, the oligosaccharide preparation can comprise oligosaccharides that comprise only glucose subunits, oligosaccharides that comprise only galactose subunits, oligosaccharides that comprise both glucose and galactose subunits at various ratios, or any combination thereof.

[00705] In some embodiments, any or all of the n fractions of the oligosaccharide preparation comprises different species of oligosaccharides subunits that each oligosaccharide independently comprises 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, or 10 different species of monosaccharides subunits. In some embodiments, some of the oligosaccharides in a fraction of the preparation comprise one species of monosaccharide subunits and some other oligosaccharides in the same fraction of the preparation comprise two or more species of monosaccharides subunits.

[00706] In some embodiments, a herein described oligosaccharide preparation comprises one or more monosaccharide subunits selected from a group consisting of: triose, tetrose, pentose, hexose, heptose, and any combination thereof, wherein each of the said triose, tetrose, pentose, hexose, or heptose subunit is independently and optionally functionalized and / or replaced with one of its corresponding anhydro-subunits. In some embodiments, the corresponding anhydro-subunit is a product of thermal dehydration of the monosaccharide subunit. In some embodiments, the corresponding anhydro-subunit is a caramelization product of the monosaccharide subunit.

[00707] In some embodiments, a herein described oligosaccharide preparation comprises pentose subunits, hexose subunits, or any combination thereof, wherein each of the said pentose or hexose subunit is independently and optionally functionalized and / or replaced with one of its corresponding anhydro-subunits. In some embodiments, the oligosaccharide preparation comprises hexose subunits, wherein each of the said hexose subunits is independently and optionally replaced with one of its corresponding anhydro-subunits.

[00708] As used herein, a tetrose refers to a monosaccharide with four carbon atoms, such as erythrose, threose, and erythrulose. As used herein, a pentose refers to a monosaccharide with five carbon atoms, such as arabinose, lyxose, ribose, and xylose. As used herein, a hexose refers to a monosaccharide with six carbon atoms, such as allose, altrose, glucose, mannose, gulose, idose, galactose, talose, psicose, fructose, sorbose, and tagatose. As used herein, a heptose refers to a monosaccharide with seven carbon atoms, such as sedoheptulose and mannoheptulose.

[00709] In some embodiments, a herein described oligosaccharide preparation comprises glucose subunit, wherein at least one glucose subunit is optionally replaced with an anhydro-glucose subunit. In some embodiments, a herein described oligosaccharide preparation comprises galactose subunit, wherein at least one galactose subunit is optionally replaced with anhydro-galactose subunit. In some embodiments, a herein described oligosaccharide preparation comprises galactose and glucose subunits, wherein at least one galactose subunit or at least one glucose subunit is optionally replaced with one of its corresponding anhydro-subunits. In some embodiments, a herein described oligosaccharide preparation comprises fructose and glucose subunits, wherein at least one fructose subunit or at least one glucose subunit is optionally replaced with one of its corresponding anhydrosubunits. In some embodiments, a herein described oligosaccharide preparation comprises mannose and glucose subunit, wherein at least one mannose subunit or at least one glucose subunit is optionally replaced with one of its corresponding anhydro-subunits.

[00710] In some embodiments, a herein described oligosaccharide preparation comprises a gluco-galactose-oligosaccharide preparation, a gluco-oligosaccharide preparation, a galacto-oligosaccharide preparation, a fructo-oligosaccharide preparation, a manno-oligosaccharide preparation, an arabino oligosaccharide preparation, a xylo-oligosaccharide preparation, a gluco-fructo-oligosaccharide preparation, a gluco-manno-oligosaccharide preparation, a gluco-arabino-oligosaccharide preparation, a gluco-xylo-oligosaccharide preparation, a galacto-fructo-oligosaccharide preparation, a galactomanno-oligosaccharide preparation, a galacto-arabino-oligosaccharide preparation, a galacto-xylo- oligosaccharide preparation, a oligosaccharide preparation, a oligosaccharide preparation, a fructo-manno-oligosaccharide fructo-xylo-oligosaccharide manno-xylo-oligosaccharide preparation, a fructo-arabinopreparation, a manno-arabinopreparation, an arabino-xylo- oligosaccharide preparation, a galacto-arabino-xylo-oligosaccharide preparation, a fructo-galacto- xylo-oligosaccharide preparation, an arabino-fructo-manno-xylo-oligosaccharide preparation, a gluco-fructo-galacto-arabino-oligosaccharide preparation, a fructo-gluco-arabino-manno-xylo oligosaccharide preparation, a gluco-galacto-fructo-manno-arabinoxylo-oligosaccharide preparation, or any combinations thereof; wherein each of the monosaccharide subunit within the preparation is independently and optionally functionalized and / or replaced with one of its corresponding anhydrosubunits.

[00711] In certain embodiments, a herein described oligosaccharide preparation comprises more than 99% of glucose subunits by weight. In some embodiments, the oligosaccharide preparation comprises only glucose subunits.

[00712] In some embodiments, a herein described oligosaccharide preparation comprises about 45% to 55% of glucose subunits and about 55% to 45% of galactose subunits by weight. In some specific embodiments, the oligosaccharide preparation comprises about 50% glucose and 50% galactose subunits by weight.

[00713] In some embodiments, a herein described oligosaccharide preparation comprises about 80% to 95% of glucose subunits and about 20% to 5% of mannose subunits by weight. In some embodiments, the oligosaccharide preparation comprises about 85 % to 90% of glucose subunits and about 15% to 10% of mannose subunits by weight.

[00714] In some embodiments, a herein described oligosaccharide preparation comprises about 80% to 95% of glucose subunits and about 20% to 5% of galactose subunits by weight. In some embodiments, the oligosaccharide preparation comprises about 85 % to 90% of glucose subunits and about 15% to 10% of galactose subunits by weight.

[00715] In some embodiments, a herein described oligosaccharide preparation comprises about 80% to 95% of glucose subunits, 0% to 8% of galactose subunits, and 5% to 20% of mannose subunits by weight. In some embodiments, the oligosaccharide preparation comprises about 80 % to 90% of glucose subunits, 1% to 5% of galactose subunits, and 10% to 15% of mannose subunits by weight.

[00716] In some embodiments, an oligosaccharide preparation described herein comprises from about 1 wt% to about 100 wt%, from about 50 wt% to about 100 wt%, from about 80 wt% to about 98 wt%, or from about 85 wt% to about 95 wt% of glucose subunits, or any ranges therebetween. In some embodiments, galactose subunits are present in an oligosaccharide preparation described herein at an amount of from about 0 wt% to about 90 wt%, from about 1 wt% to about 50 wt%, from about 2 wt% to about 20wt%, or from about 5 wt% to about 15 wt%, or any ranges therebetween. In some embodiments, mannose subunits are present in an oligosaccharide preparation described herein at an amount of from about 0 wt% to about 90 wt%, from about 1 wt% to about 50 wt%, from about 2 wt% to about 20wt%, or from about 5 wt% to about 15 wt%, or any ranges therebetween.

[00717] In some embodiments, a herein described oligosaccharide preparation has a composition of monosaccharide subunits as shown in Table 26. Table 26, Exemplary Compositions of Oligosaccharide Preparations Oligo Composition No. Glucose and anhydroglucose subunits (wt%) Galactose and anhydrogalactose subunits (wt%) Mannose and anhydromannose subunits (wt%) Fructose and anhydrofructose subunits (wt%) 1 87.5 12.5 0 0 2 100 0 0 0 3 85 2.5 12.5 0 4 87.5 0 12.5 0 5 50 50 0 0 6 75 0 25 0 7 9 6 0 0 8 90 0 10 0 9 95 5 0 0 10 97.5 2.5 0 0 11 85 5 10 0 12 85 1.5 13.5 0 13 80 10 10 0 14 85 0 15 0 15 85 15 0 0 16 87.5 0 0 12.5 H. D- vs. L- Form

[00718] In some embodiments, at least one monosaccharide subunit in an oligosaccharide is in L-form. In some embodiments, at least one monosaccharides subunit in an oligosaccharide is in D-form. In some embodiments, the monosaccharide subunits in a herein described oligosaccharide preparation are in their naturally-abundant form, for example, D-glucose, D-xylose, and L-arabinose. [00719| In some embodiments, a herein described oligosaccharide preparation comprises a mixture of L- and D-forms of monosaccharide subunits. In some embodiments, the ratio of monosaccharide subunits in L- to D- or in D- to L- form is about 1:1, about 1:2, about 1:3, about 1:4, about 1:5, about 1:6, about 1:7, about 1:8, about 1:9, about 1:10, about 1:12, about 1:14, about 1:16, about 1:18, about 1:20, about 1:25, about 1:30, about 1:35, about 1:40, about 1:45, about 1:50, about 1:55, about 1:60, about 1:65, about 1:70, about 1:75, about 1:80, about 1:85, about 1:90, about 1:100 or about 1:150. I. Functionalized Oligosaccharides

[00720] In some embodiments, one or more oligosaccharides in the preparation are independently functionalized. Functionalized oligosaccharides may be produced by, for example, combining one or more sugars with one or more functionalizing compounds in the presence of a catalyst. Methods of producing functionalized oligosaccharides are described in WO 2012 / 118767, WO 2014 / 031956, and WO / 2016 / 122887, which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety and for their disclosure.

[00721] In some embodiments, the functionalizing compound comprises one or more acid groups (e.g., -COOH), hydroxyl groups, or N-containing groups (e.g., -CN, -NO2, and -N(Ra)2, wherein Ra is hydrogen, alkyl, alkenyl, alkynyl, haloalkyl, heteroalkyl, cycloalkyl, aryl, heterocycloalkyl, or heteroaryl groups), S-containing groups (e.g., thiol and sulfates), halides (e.g., -Cl), P-containing groups (e.g., phosphate), or any combination thereof. In some embodiments, the functionalizing compound is linked to at least one monosaccharide subunit via an ether, ester, oxygen-sulfur, amine, or oxygen-phosphorous bond. In some embodiments, one or more functionalizing compounds are linked to a monosaccharide subunit via a single linkage. In some embodiments, at least one functionalizing compound is linked to one or two oligosaccharides via two or more linkages.

[00722] It is to be understood that for each oligosaccharide in the oligosaccharide preparation, each of the described embodiments is independent and can be combined as if each and every combination were listed separately; thus, any combination of the embodiments are encompassed by the present disclosure. For instance, the various embodiments can be grouped into several categories that include but are not limited to (i) the presence or absence of anhydro-subunit; (ii) the number and level of anhydro-subunit, (iii) the type of species of anhydro-subunit, (iv) the location of anhydro-subunit, (v) the degree of polymerization, (vi) the molecular weight, (vii) the presence or absence of any functional groups, (viii) the type of the oligosaccharide, (ix) the type of glycosidic linkage, and (x) the L- versus D-form. Accordingly, the described oligosaccharide preparation comprises a plurality of oligosaccharides of different species. In some embodiments, a herein described oligosaccharide preparation comprises at least 10, 102, 103, 104, 105, 106, 107,108, 109, or 1010 different oligosaccharide species. In some embodiments, the preparation comprises at least 103, 104, 105, 106, or 109 different oligosaccharide species. In some embodiments, the preparation comprises at least 103 different oligosaccharide species. III. Methods of Manufacturing Oligosaccharide Preparations

[00723] In one aspect, provided herein are methods of manufacturing oligosaccharide preparations. In some embodiments, provided herein are methods of manufacturing oligosaccharide preparations suitable for use in a nutritional composition, such as an animal feed composition, or being fed directly to an animal. In one aspect, provided herein are methods of manufacturing an oligosaccharide preparation comprising heating an aqueous composition comprising one or more feed sugars and a catalyst to a temperature and for a time sufficient to induce polymerization, wherein the catalyst is selected from the group consisting of: (+)-camphor-l0-sulfonic acid; 2-pyridinesulfonic acid; 3-pyridinesulfonic acid;    8-hydroxy-5-quinolinesulfonic    acid hydrate; a-hydroxy-2- pyridinemethanesulfonic acid; (P)-camphor-l 0-sulfonic acid; butylphosphonic acid; diphenylphosphinic acid; hexylphosphonic acid; methylphosphonic acid; phenylphosphinic acid; phenylphosphonic acid; tert-butylphosphonic acid; SS)-VAPOL hydrogenphosphate; 6-quinolinesulfonic acid, 3-(l-pyridinio)-l-propanesulfonate; 2-(2-pyridinyl)ethanesulfonic acid; 3-(2-pyridyl)-5,6-diphenyl-l,2,4-triazine-p,p'-disulfonic acid monosodium salt hydrate; l,l'-binaphthyl-2,2'-diyl-hydrogenphosphate; bis(4-methoxyphenyl)phosphinic acid; phenyl(3,5-xylyl)phosphinic acid; L-cysteic acid monohydrate; poly(styrene sulfonic acid -co- divinylbenzene); lysine; Ethanedisulfonic acid; Ethanesulfonic acid; Isethionic acid; Homocysteic acid; HEPBS (N-(2-Hydroxyethyl)piperazine-N'-(4-butanesulfonic acid)); HEPES     (4-(2-hydroxy ethyl)-1- piperazineethanesulfonic acid); 2-Hydroxy-3-morpholinopropanesulfonic acid; 2-(N-morpholino)ethanesulfonic acid; Methanesulfonic acid; Methaniazide; Naphthalene-1-sulfonic acid; Naphthalene-2-sulfonic acid; Perfluorobutanesulfonic acid; 6-sulfoquinovose; Triflic acid; 2-aminoethanesulfonic acid; Benzoic acid; Chloroacetic acid; Trifluoroacetic acid; Caproic acid; Enanthic acid; Caprylic acid; Pelargonic acid; Lauric acid; Pamitic acid; Stearic acid; Arachidic acid; Aspartic acid; Glutamic acid; Serine; Threonine; Glutamine; Cysteine; Glycine; Proline; Alanine; Valine; Isoleucine; Leucine; Methionine; Phenylalanine; Tyrosine; Tryptophan, and wherein the oligosaccharide preparation comprises at least n fractions of oligosaccharides each having a distinct degree of polymerization selected from 1 (DPI fraction) to n (DPn fraction), wherein n is an integer greater than 2.

[00724] In some embodiments, n is an integer greater than or equal to 3. In some embodiments, n is an integer within a range of 1 to 100, such as 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 40, or 50. In some embodiments, the polymerization of the feed sugars is achieved by a step-growth polymerization. In some embodiments, the polymerization of the feed sugars is achieved by polycondensation. A. Feed Sugar

[00725] In some embodiments, a method of manufacturing oligosaccharide preparations described herein comprises heating one or more types of feed sugars. In some embodiments, the one or more types of feed sugars comprise monosaccharides, disaccharides, trisaccharides, tetrasaccharides, or any mixtures thereof.

[00726] In some embodiments, the one or more feed sugars comprise glucose. In some embodiments, the one or more feed sugars comprise glucose and galactose. In some embodiments, the one or more feed sugars comprise glucose, xylose, and galactose. In some embodiments, the one or more feed sugars comprise glucose and mannose. In some embodiments, the one or more feed sugars comprise glucose and fructose. In some embodiments, the one or more feed sugars comprise glucose, fructose, and galactose. In some embodiments, the one or more feed sugars comprise glucose, galactose, and mannose.

[00727] In some embodiments, the one or more feed sugars comprise disaccharides such as lactose, sucrose and cellobiose. In some embodiments, the one or more feed sugars comprise trisaccharides, such as maltotriose or raffinose. In certain embodiments, the one or more feed sugar comprise glucose, mannose, galactose, xylose, malto-dextrin, arabinose, or galactose, or any combinations thereof. In certain embodiments, the one or more feed sugars comprise sugar syrup such as com syrup. In some embodiments, the one or more feed sugars comprise glucose and lactose. In some embodiments, the one or more feed sugars comprise glucose and sucrose.

[00728] In some embodiments, the type of feed sugars can impact the resulting manufactured oligosaccharide preparations. For example, in some variations where the one or more feed sugars are all glucose, the resulting oligosaccharide preparations comprise gluco-oligosaccharides preparations. In other embodiments, where the one or more feed sugars are all mannose, the resulting oligosaccharide preparations comprise manno-oligosaccharide preparations. In some embodiments, wherein the one or more feed sugars comprise glucose and galactose, the resulting oligosaccharide preparations comprise gluco-galacto-oligosaccharide preparations. In yet other embodiments, where the one or more feed sugars comprise xylose, glucose and galactose, the resulting oligosaccharide preparations comprise gluco-galacto-xylo-oligosaccharide preparations.

[00729] In some embodiments, each of the one or more feed sugars can be independently in its dehydrate or hydrate form. In some embodiments, the one or more feed sugars comprise glucose, galactose, fructose, mannose, or any combination thereof, and wherein each of the glucose, galactose, fructose, or mannose is independently in its mono-hydrate or de-hydrate form. In some embodiments, the one or more feed sugars comprise a monosaccharide mono-hydrate such as glucose monohydrate. In some embodiments, the one or more feed sugars comprise a saccharide di-hydrate such as trehalose di-hydrate. In some embodiments, the one or more feed sugars comprise at least one sugar in its dehydrate form and at least one sugar in its hydrate form.

[00730] In some embodiments, the one or more feed sugars can be provided as a sugar solution, in which the sugars are combined with water and fed into the reactor. In some embodiments, the sugars can be fed into the reactor in a solid form and combined with water in the reactor. In some embodiments, the one or more feed sugars are combined and mixed before the addition of water. In other embodiments, the one or more feed sugars are combined into water and mixed thereafter.

[00731] In some embodiments, the method comprises combining two or more feed sugars with the catalyst to produce an oligosaccharide preparation. In some embodiments, the two or more feed sugars comprise from glucose, galactose, fructose, mannose, lactose, or any combination thereof. In some embodiments, the method comprises combining a mixture of sugars (e.g., monosaccharides, disaccharides, and / or trisaccharides) with the catalyst to produce an oligosaccharide preparation. In other embodiments, the method comprises combining a mixture of sugars and sugar alcohols with the catalyst to produce an oligosaccharide preparation.

[00732] In some embodiments, the one or more feed sugars comprise functionalized or modified sugars. Functionalized or modified sugars may comprise amino sugars, sugar acids, sugar alcohols, sugar amides, sugar ethers, or any combination thereof. In some embodiments, amino sugars refer to sugar molecules in which a hydroxyl group is replaced with an amine group. Exemplary amino sugars include, but are not limited to, N-Acetyl-d-glucosamine, mannosamine, neuraminic acid, muramic acid, N-acetyl-neuramin, N-acetyl-muramic, N-acetyl-galactosamine, N-acetyl-mannosa, N-glycolylneuram, acarviosin, D-glucosamine, and D-galactosamine.

[00733] In embodiments, sugar acids refer to sugars with a carboxyl group. Exemplary sugar acids include, but are not limited to, aldonic acids (such as glyceric acid, xylonic acid, gluconic acid, and ascorbic acid), ulosonic acids (such as neuraminic acid and ketodeoxyoctulosonic acid), uronic acids (such as glucuronic acid, galacturonic acid, and iduronic acid), and aldaric acids (such as tartaric acid, mucic acid, and saccharic acid).

[00734] In some embodiments, sugar alcohols refer to sugar-derived polyols. Exemplary sugar alcohols include, but are not limited to, ethylene glycol, arabitol, glycerol, erythritol, threitol, xylitol, ribitol, mannitol, sorbitol, galactitol, fucitol, iditol, inositol, and volemitol.

[00735] In some embodiments, sugar amides refer to sugar molecules that contain a -C(=O)-N- group. In embodiments, sugar ethers refer to sugar molecules that contain an ether bond, such as glucosides.

[00736] In some embodiments, the functionalized or modified sugars comprise glucosamine, N-acetylglucosamine, glucuronic acid, galacturonic acid, glucitol, xylitol, mannitol, sorbitol. In some embodiments, the one of more feed sugars comprise deoxysugars, such as fucose, rhamnose, deoxyribose, or fuculose.

[00737] In some embodiments, a herein described method of manufacturing oligosaccharide preparation is performed at gram scale. In some embodiments, a herein described method of manufacturing oligosaccharide preparation is performed at kilogram or higher scale. Accordingly, in some embodiments, the method comprises heating an aqueous composition comprising one or more feed sugars at a quantity of more than 0.5, more than 1, more than 2, more than 3, more than 4, more than 5, more than 6, more than 7, more than 9, more than 10, more than 100, or more than 1000 kg. In some embodiments, the method comprises heating an aqueous composition comprising one or more feed sugars at a quantity of no more than 0.5, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 100, 1000, or 1500 kg. In some embodiments, the method comprises heating an aqueous composition comprising one or more feed sugars at a quantity of more than 1 kg. B. Catalysts

[00738] In some embodiments, the catalyst provided herein comprises one or more acids. In some embodiments, the catalyst provided herein comprises mineral acid, carboxylic acid; amino acid; sulfonic acid; boronic acid; phosphonic acid; phosphinic acid; sulfuric acid; phosphoric acid; poly(styrene sulfonic acid-co-vinylbenzyl-imidazolium sulfate-co-divinylbenzene); poly(styrene sulfonic acid-co-divinylbenzene); (+)-camphor-l 0-sulfonic acid; 2-pyridinesulfonic acid; 3-pyridinesulfonic acid; 8-hydroxy-5-quinolinesulfonic acid hydrate; a-hydroxy-2-pyridinemethanesulfonic acid; (P)-camphor-l 0-sulfonic acid; butylphosphonic acid; diphenylphosphinic acid; hexylphosphonic acid; methylphosphonic acid; phenylphosphinic acid; phenylphosphonic acid; tert-butylphosphonic acid; SS)-VAPOL hydrogenphosphate; 6-quinolinesulfonic acid; 3-(l-pyridinio)-l-propanesulfonate; 2-(2-pyridinyl)ethanesulfonic acid; 3-(2-pyridyl)-5,6-diphenyl-l,2,4-triazine-p,p'-disulfonic acid monosodium salt hydrate; l,l'-binaphthyl-2,2'-diyl-hydrogenphosphate; bis(4-methoxyphenyl)phosphinic acid; phenyl(3,5-xylyl)phosphinic acid; L-cysteic acid monohydrate; acetic acid; propionic acid; butanoic acid; glutamic acid; lysine; Ethanedisulfonic acid; Ethanesulfonic acid; Isethionic acid; Homocysteic acid; HEPBS (N-(2-Hydroxyethyl)piperazine-N'-(4-butanesulfonic acid)); HEPES     (4-(2-hydroxy ethyl)-1- piperazineethanesulfonic acid); 2-Hydroxy-3-morpholinopropanesulfonic acid; 2-(N-morpholino)ethanesulfonic acid; Methanesulfonic acid; Methaniazide; Naphthalene-1-sulfonic acid; Naphthalene-2-sulfonic acid; Perfluorobutanesulfonic acid; 6-sulfoquinovose; Triflic acid; 2-aminoethanesulfonic acid; Benzoic acid; Chloroacetic acid; Trifluoroacetic acid; Caproic acid; Enanthic acid; Caprylic acid; Pelargonic acid; Lauric acid; Pamitic acid; Stearic acid; Arachidic acid; Aspartic acid; Glutamic acid; Serine; Threonine; Glutamine; Cysteine; Glycine; Proline; Alanine; Valine; Isoleucine; Leucine; Methionine; Phenylalanine; Tyrosine; Tryptophan; polymeric acid; carbon-supported acid; or any combination thereof.

[00739] In some embodiments, the catalyst provided herein comprises: (+)-camphor-l0-sulfonic acid; 2-pyridinesulfonic acid; 3-pyridinesulfonic acid; 8-hydroxy-5-quinolinesulfonic acid hydrate; a-hydroxy-2-pyridinemethanesulfonic acid; (P)-camphor-l 0-sulfonic acid; butylphosphonic acid; diphenylphosphinic acid; hexylphosphonic acid; methylphosphonic acid; phenylphosphinic acid; phenylphosphonic acid; tert-butylphosphonic acid; SS)-VAPOL hydrogenphosphate; 6-quinolinesulfonic acid, 3-(l-pyridinio)-l-propanesulfonate; 2-(2-pyridinyl)ethanesulfonic acid; 3-(2-pyridyl)-5,6-diphenyl-l,2,4-triazine-p,p'-disulfonic acid monosodium salt hydrate; l,l'-binaphthyl-2,2'-diyl-hydrogenphosphate; bis(4-methoxyphenyl)phosphinic acid; phenyl(3,5-xylyl)phosphinic acid; L-cysteic acid monohydrate; poly(styrene sulfonic acid -co- divinylbenzene); lysine; Ethanedisulfonic acid; Ethanesulfonic acid; Isethionic acid; Homocysteic acid; HEPBS (N-(2-Hydroxyethyl)piperazine-N'-(4-butanesulfonic acid)); HEPES     (4-(2-hydroxy ethyl)-1- piperazineethanesulfonic acid); 2-Hydroxy-3-morpholinopropanesulfonic acid; 2-(N-morpholino)ethanesulfonic acid; Methanesulfonic acid; Methaniazide; Naphthalene-1-sulfonic acid; Naphthalene-2-sulfonic acid; Perfluorobutanesulfonic acid; 6-sulfoquinovose; Triflic acid; 2-aminoethanesulfonic acid; Benzoic acid; Chloroacetic acid; Trifluoroacetic acid; Caproic acid; Enanthic acid; Caprylic acid; Pelargonic acid; Lauric acid; Pamitic acid; Stearic acid; Arachidic acid; Aspartic acid; Glutamic acid; Serine; Threonine; Glutamine; Cysteine; Glycine; Proline; Alanine; Valine; Isoleucine; Leucine; Methionine; Phenylalanine; Tyrosine; Tryptophan; or any combination thereof.

[00740] In some embodiments, the catalyst provided herein is (+)-camphor-l0-sulfonic acid. In some embodiments, the catalyst provided herein is 2-pyridinesulfonic acid. In some embodiments, the catalyst provided herein is 3-pyridinesulfonic acid. In some embodiments, the catalyst provided herein is 8-hydroxy-5-quinolinesulfonic acid hydrate. In some embodiments, the catalyst provided herein is a-hydroxy-2-pyridinemethanesulfonic acid. In some embodiments, the catalyst provided herein is (P)-camphor-10-sulfonic acid. In some embodiments, the catalyst provided herein is butylphosphonic acid. In some embodiments, the catalyst provided herein is diphenylphosphinic acid. In some embodiments, the catalyst provided herein is hexylphosphonic acid. In some embodiments, the catalyst provided herein is methylphosphonic acid. In some embodiments, the catalyst provided herein is phenylphosphinic acid. In some embodiments, the catalyst provided herein is phenylphosphonic acid. In some embodiments, the catalyst provided herein is tert-butylphosphonic acid. In some embodiments, the catalyst provided herein is SS)-VAPOL hydrogenphosphate. In some embodiments, the catalyst provided herein is 6-quinolinesulfonic acid. In some embodiments, the catalyst provided herein is 3-(l-pyridinio)-l-propanesulfonate. In some embodiments, the catalyst provided herein is 2-(2-pyridinyl)ethanesulfonic acid. In some embodiments, the catalyst provided herein is 3-(2-pyridyl)-5,6-diphenyl-l,2,4-triazine-p,p'-disulfonic acid monosodium salt hydrate. In some embodiments, the catalyst provided herein is l,l'-binaphthyl-2,2'-diyl-hydrogenphosphate. In some embodiments, the catalyst provided herein is bis(4-methoxyphenyl)phosphinic acid. In some embodiments, the catalyst provided herein is phenyl(3,5-xylyl)phosphinic acid. In some embodiments, the catalyst provided herein is L-cysteic acid monohydrate. In some embodiments, the catalyst provided herein is poly(styrene sulfonic acid -co- divinylbenzene). In some embodiments, the catalyst provided herein is lysine.

[00741] In some embodiments, the catalyst is Ethanedisulfonic acid. In some embodiments, the catalyst is Ethanesulfonic acid. In some embodiments, the catalyst is Isethionic acid. In some embodiments, the catalyst is Homocysteic acid. In some embodiments, the catalyst is HEPBS (N-(2-Hydroxyethyl)piperazine-N'-(4-butanesulfonic acid)). In some embodiments, the catalyst is HEPES (4-(2-hydroxyethyl)-1 -piperazineethanesulfonic acid). In some embodiments, the catalyst is 2-Hydroxy-3-morpholinopropanesulfonic acid. In some embodiments, the catalyst is 2-(N-morpholino) ethanesulfonic acid. In some embodiments, the catalyst is Methanesulfonic acid. In embodiments, the catalyst is Naphthal ene-1-sulfonic acid. In some embodiments, the catalyst is some embodiments, the catalyst is Methaniazide. In some Naphthalene-2-sulfonic acid. In some embodiments, the catalyst is Perfluorobutanesulfonic acid. In some embodiments, the catalyst is 6-sulfoquinovose. In some embodiments, the catalyst is Triflic acid. In some embodiments, the catalyst is 2-aminoethanesulfonic acid. In some embodiments, the catalyst is Benzoic acid. In some embodiments, the catalyst is Chloroacetic acid. In some embodiments, the catalyst is Trifluoroacetic acid. In some embodiments, the catalyst is Caproic acid. In some embodiments, the catalyst is Enanthic acid. In some embodiments, the catalyst is Caprylic acid. In some embodiments, the catalyst is Pelargonic acid. In some embodiments, the catalyst is Lauric acid. In some embodiments, the catalyst is Pamitic acid. In some embodiments, the catalyst is Stearic acid. In some embodiments, the catalyst is Arachidic acid. In some embodiments, the catalyst is Aspartic acid. In some embodiments, the catalyst is Glutamic acid. In some embodiments, the catalyst is Serine. In some embodiments, the catalyst is Threonine. In some embodiments, the catalyst is Glutamine. In some embodiments, the catalyst is Cysteine. In some embodiments, the catalyst is Glycine. In some embodiments, the catalyst is Proline. In some embodiments, the catalyst is Alanine. In some embodiments, the catalyst is Valine. In some embodiments, the catalyst is Isoleucine. In some embodiments, the catalyst is Leucine. In some embodiments, the catalyst is Methionine. In some embodiments, the catalyst is Phenylalanine. In some embodiments, the catalyst is Tyrosine. In some embodiments, the catalyst is Tryptophan.

[00742] In some embodiments, the catalyst provided herein is a polymeric catalyst or a carbon-supported catalyst disclosed in WO 2016122887, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety and for its disclosure.

[00743] In some embodiments, the catalyst provided herein is present in an amount of from about 0.01% to about 5%, from about 0.02% to about 4%, from about 0.03% to about 3%, or from about 0.05% to about 2% of the one or more feed sugars by dry weight. In some embodiments, the catalyst provided herein is present in an amount of from about 1% to 2% of the one or more feed sugars by dry weight. In some embodiments, the catalyst provided herein is present in an amount of about 0.5%, about 0.6%, about 0.7%, about 0.8%, about 0.9%, about 1.0%, about 1.1%, about 1.2%, about 1.3%, about 1.4%, about 1.5%, about 1.6%, about 1.7%, about 1.8%, about 1.9%, about 2.0%, about 2.1%, about 2.2%, about 2.3%, about 2.4%, about 2.5%, about 2.6%, about 2.7%, about 2.8%, about 2.9%, or about 3.0% of the one or more feed sugars by dry weight.

[00744] In some embodiments, the catalyst provided herein is present in an amount of from about 0.01% to about 5%, from about 0.02% to about 4%, from about 0.03% to about 3%, or from about 0.05% to about 2% of the aqueous composition by dry weight. In some embodiments, the catalyst provided herein is present in an amount of from about 1% to 2% of the aqueous composition by dry weight. In some embodiments, the catalyst provided herein is present in an amount of about 0.8%, about 0.9%, about 1.0%, about 1.1%, about 1.2%, about 1.3%, about 1.4%, about 1.5%, about 1.6%, about 1.7%, about 1.8%, about 1.9%, about 2.0%, about 2.1%, about 2.2%, about 2.3%, about 2.4%, about 2.5%, about 2.6%, about 2.7%, about 2.8%, about 2.9%, or about 3.0% of the aqueous composition by dry weight.

[00745] In some embodiments, the catalyst provided herein is a combination of two or more different catalysts. In some embodiments, the catalyst comprises a recyclable catalyst such as resins and polymeric catalysts and a non-recyclable catalyst. In some embodiments, where the catalyst comprises at least two different catalysts, each of the catalyst is present in an amount provided herein. In other embodiments, where the catalyst comprises at least two different catalysts, the at least two different catalysts are present in aggregate in an amount provided herein.

[00746] In some embodiments, the catalyst is added into the aqueous composition in a dry form. In other embodiments, the catalyst is added into the aqueous composition in a wet form such as in an aqueous solution. In some embodiment, the catalyst is combined with the one or more feed sugars before the addition of water. In other embodiments, the catalyst is dissolved into water before its combining with the one or more feed sugars. In some embodiments, the method provided herein comprises producing an aqueous composition by combining the one or more feed sugars in the dehydrate form and the catalyst in a wet form (e.g., as an aqueous solution). C. Addition of Water

[00747] In some embodiments, the methods of manufacturing the oligosaccharide preparations comprise adding water to form the aqueous composition. In some embodiments, all or part of the water in the aqueous composition is added as free water. In other embodiments, all of the water in the aqueous composition is added as bonded water, for example, in saccharide mono- or di-hydrate. In some embodiments, all of the water in the aqueous composition is added as bonded water in monosaccharide mono-hydrate, such as glucose mono-hydrate. In certain embodiments, all or part of the water in the aqueous composition is added with the catalyst, i.e., via a catalyst solution. D. Water Content

[00748] As the methods of manufacturing the oligosaccharide preparations proceed, water can be produced through reaction. For example, in some embodiments, water is produced (i) with the formation of a glycosidic bond, (ii) with the formation of an anhydro-subunit, or (iii) through other mechanisms or sources. As the sugar condensation and dehydration reactions both involve water, in some embodiments, the water content influences the composition of the oligosaccharide preparation.

[00749] Further, in some embodiments, water content influences the viscosity of the aqueous composition, which in turn may affect the effectiveness of mixing of the aqueous composition. For example, in some embodiments, an overly viscous aqueous composition can lead to an undesirable heterogeneous catalyst distribution in the aqueous composition. Moreover, in some embodiments, very low water content may lead to the solidification of the aqueous composition, which prevents effective mixing. On the other hand, in some other embodiments, exceedingly high water content may impede sugar condensation reaction and lower the level of the anhydro-subunits. Accordingly, the present disclosure describes suitable water content for the manufacturing of oligosaccharide preparations.

[00750] In some embodiments, a herein described method of manufacturing oligosaccharide preparation comprises forming and / or heating an aqueous composition. In some embodiments, the aqueous composition comprises from about 0% to about 80%, from about 0% to about 70%, from about 0% to about 60%, from about 0% to about 50%, from about 0% to about 40%, from about 0% to about 35%, from about 0% to about 30%, from about 0% to about 25%, from about 0% to about 20%, from about 0% to about 19%, from about 0% to about 18%, from about 0% to about 17%, from about 0% to about 16%, from about 0% to about 15%, from about 0% to about 14%, from about 0% to about 13%, from about 0% to about 12%, from about 0% to about 11%, from about 0% to about 10%, from about 0% to about 9%, from about 0% to about 8%, from about 0% to about 7%, from about 0% to about 6%, from about 0% to about 5%, from about 0% to about 4%, from about 0% to about 3%, from about 0% to about 2%, or from about 0% to about 1% of water by total weight. In some embodiments, the aqueous composition comprises from about 1% to about 20%, from about 1% to about 18%, from about 1% to about 16%, from about 1% to about 14%, from about 1% to about 12%, from about 1% to about 10%, from about 1% to about 8%, from about 1% to about 6%, or from about 1% to about 4% of water by total weight. In some embodiments, the aqueous composition comprises from about 3% to about 16%, from about 3% to about 14%, from about 3% to about 12%, from about 3% to about 10%, from about 3% to about 8%, from about 3% to about 6%, from about 5% to about 16%, from about 5% to about 14%, from about 5% to about 12%, from about 5% to about 10%, from about 7% to about 16%, from about 7% to about 14%, from about 7% to about 12%, from about 7% to about 10%, or from about 8% to about 10% of water by total weight. In some embodiments, the aqueous composition comprises about 1%, about 2%, about 3%, about 4%, about 5%, about 6%, about 7%, about 8%, about 9%, about 10%, about 11%, about 12%, about 13%, about 14%, or about 15% of water by total weight. In some embodiments, the aqueous composition comprises about 9% water by total weight. It should be understood, however, that the amount of water in the aqueous composition can be adjusted based on the reaction conditions and specific catalyst used. In some embodiments, the water content in the aqueous composition as disclosed above is measured at the beginning of the reaction, for example, before heating the feed sugars. In some embodiments, the water content in the aqueous composition as disclosed above is measured at the end of the polymerization or condensation reaction. In some embodiments, the water content in the aqueous composition as disclosed above is measured as an average water content of the beginning of the reaction and at the end of the reaction.

[00751] In certain embodiments, a method described herein can further comprise monitoring the content of water present in the aqueous composition and / or the ratio of water to sugars or catalyst over a period of time. In some embodiments, the method further comprises removing at least a portion of water in the aqueous composition, for example, by distillation. Any method known in the art can be used to remove water from the aqueous composition, including, for example, by vacuum filtration, vacuum distillation, heating, steam, hot air, and / or evaporation.

[00752] In some embodiments, herein described oligosaccharide preparations are hygroscopic. Thus, in some embodiments, the hygroscopicity of the feed sugars and the oligosaccharides formed in the polymerization can affect the rate by which the water can be removed from the aqueous composition.

[00753] In some embodiments, a herein described method comprises removing at least a portion of water in the aqueous composition such that the water content in the aqueous composition is from about 1% to about 20%, from about 1% to about 18%, from about 1% to about 16%, from about 1% to about 14%, from about 1% to about 12%, from about 1% to about 10%, from about 1% to about 8%, from about 2% to about 16%, from about 2% to about 14%, from about 2% to about 12%, from about 2% to about 10%, from about 2% to about 8%, from about 2% to about 6%, from about 4% to about 16%, from about 4% to about 14%, from about 4% to about 12%, from about 4% to about 10%, from about 4% to about 8%, from about 6% to about 16%, from about 6% to about 12%, from about 6% to about 10%, or from about 6% to about 8% by total weight. In some embodiments, the method comprises removing at least a portion of water in the aqueous composition such that the water content in the aqueous composition is from about 2% to about 10%, from about 2% to about 8%, or from about 4% to about 8% by total weight. In some embodiments, the method comprises removing at least a portion of water in the aqueous composition such that the water content in the aqueous composition is about 2%, about 3%, about ...

Claims

1. A method of improving nitrogen utilization in an animal, the method comprising:administering a nutritional composition comprising a base nutritional composition and a synthetic oligosaccharide preparation to said animal,wherein said synthetic oligosaccharide preparation comprises at least n fractions of oligosaccharides each having a distinct degree of polymerization selected from 1 to n (DP1 to DPn fractions), wherein n is an integer greater than 3; and wherein each of a DP1 and DP2 fraction independently comprises from about 0.5% to about 15% of anhydro-subunit containing oligosaccharides by relative abundance as determined by mass spectrometry;wherein a level of a plurality of metabolites associated with enhanced nitrogen utilization is higher in a gastrointestinal sample from said animal compared to a gastrointestinal sample from a comparable control animal that has been administered a comparable nutritional composition comprising said base nutritional composition and lacking said synthetic oligosaccharide preparation, andwherein said plurality comprises at least 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, or 10 metabolites, preferably wherein said plurality of metabolites comprises at least 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, or 10 metabolites selected from the group consisting of (2S, 3S)-3-methylaspartate, (R)-3-(phenyl)lactate, (R)-3-(phenyl)lactoyl-CoA, (S)-3-aminobutanoyl-CoA, 2-oxoglutarate, 3-(4-hydroxyphenyl)pyruvate, 4-aminobutanal, 4-aminobutanoate, 4-guanidinobutanoate, 4-guanidinobutyraldehyde, 4-guanidobutryamide, 4-maleyl-acetoacetate, 5-aminopentanal, 5-aminopentanoate, 5-guanidino-2-oxopentanoate, Agmatine, Ammonia, Cadaverine, Cinnamate, cinnamoyl-CoA, coenzyme_A, formamide, homogentisate, L-beta-lysine, L-cystathionine, L-glutamate, L-glutamate-5-semialdehyde, L-histidine, L-homocysteine, L-lysine, L-methionine, L-ornithine, L-proline, L-serine, Mesaconate, N-carbamoylputrescine, N-formimino-L-glutamate, N2-succinyl-L-arginine, Pyruvate, succincate_semialdehyde, succinyl-CoA, or urea.

2. A method of improving nitrogen utilization in an animal, the method comprising:administering a nutritional composition comprising a base nutritional composition and a synthetic oligosaccharide preparation to said animal,wherein said synthetic oligosaccharide preparation comprises at least n fractions of oligosaccharides each having a distinct degree of polymerization selected from 1 to n (DP1 to DPn fractions), wherein n is an integer greater than 3; and wherein each of a DP1 and DP2 fraction independently comprises from about 0.5% to about 15% of anhydro-subunit2021236325   20 Aug 2026containing oligosaccharides by relative abundance as determined by mass spectrometry;wherein a level of a plurality of metabolites associated with diminished nitrogen utilization is lower in a gastrointestinal sample from said animal compared to a gastrointestinal sample from a comparable control animal that has been administered a comparable nutritional composition comprising said base nutritional composition and lacking said synthetic oligosaccharide preparation; andwherein said plurality comprises at least 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, or 10 metabolites, preferably wherein said plurality comprises at least 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, or 10 metabolites selected from the group consisting of (3S,5S)-3,5-diaminohexanoate, (S)-3-methyl-2-oxopentanoate, (S)-5-amino-3-oxohexanoate, 2-oxoglutarate, acetyl-CoA, ammonia, D-alanine, Formate, Fumarate, Glycine, L-2-amino-3-oxobutanoate, L-alanine, L-asparagine, L-aspartate, L-glutamate, L-isoleucine, N-formimino-L-glutamate, N-formyl-L-glutamate, N2-succinylglutamate, and Pyruvate.

3. A method of diminishing adverse amino acid degradation in an animal, the methodcomprising:administering a nutritional composition comprising a base nutritional composition and a synthetic oligosaccharide preparation to said animal,wherein said synthetic oligosaccharide preparation comprises at least n fractions of oligosaccharides each having a distinct degree of polymerization selected from 1 to n (DP1 to DPn fractions), wherein n is an integer greater than 3; and wherein each of a DP1 and DP2 fraction independently comprises from about 0.5% to about 15% of anhydro-subunit containing oligosaccharides by relative abundance as determined by mass spectrometry;wherein the level of a plurality of metabolites associated with amino acid degradation is lower in a gastrointestinal sample from said animal compared to a gastrointestinal sample from a comparable control animal that has been administered a comparable nutritional composition comprising said base nutritional composition and lacking said synthetic oligosaccharide preparation; and wherein said plurality comprises at least 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, or 10 metabolites, preferably wherein said plurality comprises at least 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, or 10 metabolites selected from the group consisting of (3S,5S)-3,5-diaminohexanoate, (S)-3-methyl-2-oxopentanoate, (S)-5-amino-3-oxohexanoate, 2-oxoglutarate, acetyl-CoA, ammonia, D-alanine, Formate, Fumarate, Glycine, L-2-amino-3-oxobutanoate, L-alanine, L-asparagine, L-aspartate, L-glutamate, L-isoleucine, N-formimino-L-glutamate, N-formyl-L-glutamate, N2-succinylglutamate, and Pyruvate.

4. A method of improving carbon utilization in an animal, the method comprising:2021236325   20 Aug 2026administering a nutritional composition comprising a base nutritional composition and a synthetic oligosaccharide preparation to said animal,wherein said synthetic oligosaccharide preparation comprises at least n fractions of oligosaccharides each having a distinct degree of polymerization selected from 1 to n (DP1 to DPn fractions), wherein n is an integer greater than 3; and wherein each of a DP1 and DP2 fraction independently comprises from about 0.5% to about 15% of anhydro-subunit containing oligosaccharides by relative abundance as determined by mass spectrometry, wherein the level of a plurality of metabolites associated with improved carbon utilization in a gastrointestinal sample from said animal is higher compared to a comparable control animal that has been administered a comparable nutritional composition comprising said base nutritional composition and lacking said synthetic oligosaccharide preparation, wherein said plurality comprises at least 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, or 10 metabolites, preferably wherein said plurality comprises at least 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, or 10 metabolites selected from the group consisting of (R)-lactate, (R)-lactoyl-CoA, (S)-lactate, (S)-propane-1,2,-diol, 1-propanal, acetate, acetyl-CoA, acryloyl-CoA, propanoate, propanoyl-CoA, and pyruvate.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein said plurality comprises at least 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9,or 10 metabolites selected from the group consisting of (3R)-3-hydroxybutanoyl-CoA, (R)-lactate, (R)-lactoyl-CoA, (S)-3-aminobutanoyl-CoA, (S)-3-hydroxy-isobutanoate, (S)-3-hydroxy-isobutanoyl-CoA, (S)-3-hydroxybutanoyl-CoA, (S)-5-amino-3-oxohexanoate, (S)-lactate, 4-hydroxybutanoate, Acetate, Acetoacetate, acetoacetyl-CoA, acetyl-CoA, butanoate, butanoyl-CoA, coenzyme_A, crotonyl-CoA, succinate, succincate_semialdehyde, and succinyl-CoA.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the level of said at least metabolite is at least about0.5%, 1%, 2%, 3%, 4%, 5%, 10%, 15%, 20%, or 25% higher than the level in said gastrointestinal sample from a comparable control animal that has been administered a comparable nutritional composition comprising said base nutritional composition lacking said synthetic oligosaccharide preparation.

7. The method of claims 1 to 3, and claim 5 or 6, wherein the level of said at leastmetabolite is at least about 0.1 fold, 0.2 fold, 0.3 fold, 0.4 fold, 0.5 fold, 0.6 fold, 0.7 fold, 0.8 fold, 0.9 fold, 1 fold, 2 fold, 3 fold, 4 fold, 5 fold, 6 fold, 7 fold, 8 fold, 9 fold, or 10 fold higher than the level in said gastrointestinal sample from a comparable control animal that has been administered a comparable nutritional composition comprising said base nutritional composition lacking said synthetic oligosaccharide preparation.2021236325   20 Aug 20268.     The method of claims 1 to 3, and 5 or 6, wherein the level of a plurality of metabolitesassociated with carbon utilization is lower in a gastrointestinal sample from said animal compared to a gastrointestinal sample from a comparable control animal that has been administered a comparable nutritional composition comprising said base nutritional composition lacking said synthetic oligosaccharide preparation.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein said plurality comprises at least 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, or10 metabolites.

10. A method of improving energy metabolism in an animal, the method comprising:administering a nutritional composition comprising a base nutritional composition and a synthetic oligosaccharide preparation to said animal,wherein said synthetic oligosaccharide preparation comprises at least n fractions of oligosaccharides each having a distinct degree of polymerization selected from 1 to n (DP1 to DPn fractions), wherein n is an integer greater than 3; and wherein each of a DP1 and DP2 fraction independently comprises from about 0.5% to about 15% of anhydro-subunit containing oligosaccharides by relative abundance as determined by mass spectrometry, andwherein the level of a plurality of metabolites associated with improved energy metabolism in a gastrointestinal sample from said animal is higher compared to a comparable control animal that has been administered a comparable nutritional composition comprising said base nutritional composition and lacking said synthetic oligosaccharide preparation, wherein said plurality comprises at least 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, or 10 metabolites, preferably wherein said plurality comprises at least 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, or 10 metabolites selected from the group consisting of 2-oxoglutarate, fumarate, L-alanine, L-glutamate, oxaloacetate, propanoy4 l-CoA, pyruvate, and succinate.

11. Use of a base nutritional composition and a synthetic oligosaccharide preparation in the manufacture of a nutritional composition for the improvement of nitrogen utilization in an animal,wherein said synthetic oligosaccharide preparation comprises at least n fractions of oligosaccharides each having a distinct degree of polymerization selected from 1 to n (DP1 to DPn fractions), wherein n is an integer greater than 3; and wherein each of a DP1 and DP2 fraction independently comprises from about 0.5% to about 15% of anhydro-subunit containing oligosaccharides by relative abundance as determined by mass spectrometry;wherein a level of a plurality of metabolites associated with enhanced nitrogen utilization is higher in a gastrointestinal sample from said animal compared to a2021236325   20 Aug 2026gastrointestinal sample from a comparable control animal that has been administered a comparable nutritional composition comprising said base nutritional composition and lacking said synthetic oligosaccharide preparation, andwherein said plurality comprises at least 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, or 10 metabolites, preferably wherein said plurality of metabolites comprises at least 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, or 10 metabolites selected from the group consisting of (2S, 3S)-3-methylaspartate, ®-3-(phenyl)lactate, ®-3-(phenyl)lactoyl-CoA, (S)-3-aminobutanoyl-CoA, 2-oxoglutarate, 3-(4-hydroxyphenyl)pyruvate, 4-aminobutanal, 4-aminobutanoate, 4-guanidinobutanoate, 4-guanidinobutyraldehyde, 4-guanidobutryamide, 4-maleyl-acetoacetate, 5-aminopentanal, 5-aminopentanoate, 5-guanidino-2-oxopentanoate, Agmatine, Ammonia, Cadaverine, Cinnamate, cinnamoyl-CoA, coenzyme_A, formamide, homogentisate, L-beta-lysine, L-cystathionine, L-glutamate, L-glutamate-5-semialdehyde, L-histidine, L-homocysteine, L-lysine, L-methionine, L-ornithine, L-proline, L-serine, Mesaconate, N-carbamoylputrescine, N-formimino-L-glutamate, N2-succinyl-L-arginine, Pyruvate, - 234 -uccinate_semialdehyde, succinyl-CoA, or urea.

12. The method of claim 1, 2, 3, or 10, or the use of claim 11, wherein the level of said at least metabolite is at least about 0.5%, 1%, 2%, 3%, 4%, 5%, 10%, 15%, 20%, or 25% higher than the level in said gastrointestinal sample from a comparable control animal that has been administered a comparable nutritional composition comprising said base nutritional composition lacking said synthetic oligosaccharide preparation.

13. The method of any one of claims 1 to 10 or 12, or the use of claim 11, wherein the animal is a poultry.

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