Liquid food for curing constipation: polydextrose and oligosaccharide

Claim 1

A liquid food, which is helpful in correcting constipation, comprising: (a) a water soluble polysaccharide composed of glucose or maltose units having a molecular weight of 1,500 to 18,000 and (b) an oligosaccharide of at least 3 saccharide units which is utilizable by intestinal bifidobacteria selected from the group consisting of: (i) raffinose family oligosaccharide: Gal--(Gal) n --Glc--Fru, n=0, 1; (ii) galactose series oligosaccharide: Gal--(Gal) m --Glc, m=1, 2, 3, 4 or Gal--(β-1,6)--Glc--(β-1,4)--Gal; (iii) fructooligosaccharide: Fru--(Fru) m --Glc, m=1, 2, 3, 4 or Fru--(Fru) n --Glc--Fru, n=0, 1; (iv) decomposition product of Konjak mannan which is an oligosaccharide comprised of glucose and mannose; (v) levan (β-2,6-fructan): Fru--(β-2,6)--(Fru--(β-2,6) p =Fru; p=1-28; (vi) partially hydrolyzed chitin: Gal--(GlcNAc) m --Glc, m=1, 2, 3, 4; and (vii) lactosucrose: Gal--Glc--Fru, where Gal=galactose moiety, Glc=glucose moiety, Fru=fructose moiety, GlcNAc=N-acetylglucosamine moiety, and wherein (a) and (b) are admixed in a ratio of about 1:10 to about 20:1.