A preliminary clinical study of bifidobacteria preparation on the treatment of diarrhea in severely burned patients.
(9/1007)
OBJECTIVE: To investigate the role of bifidobacteria preparation in the prevention of diarrhea in severely burned patients. METHODS: Forty-three severely burned patients who were inflicted by diarrhea were included in this study. The changes of intestinal microflora were observed. RESULTS: The intestinal flora of all patients with diarrhea changed greatly before treatment. The proportions of bifidobacteria and bacteroid decreased significantly, whereas those of aerobe and Candida increased relatively. The ratio of anaerobe to aerobe decreased. As a result, the patients' intestinal flora were distorted. After six days treatment of bifidobacteria, diarrhea in most patients ceased and the intestinal microflora restored. CONCLUSION: Bifidobacteria feeding plays an important role in restoring intestinal microflora and stopping diarrhea in severely burned patients. (+info)
Inulin, oligofructose and intestinal function.
(10/1007)
Inulin and oligofructose have attracted much attention recently as nonabsorbable carbohydrates with prebiotic properties. When inulin and oligofructose were added to a controlled diet, significant increases were noted in colonic bifidobacterial populations, and it has been proposed that these changes promote both colonic and systemic health through modification of the intestinal microflora. Inulin and oligofructose are rapidly and completely fermented by the colonic microflora with the production of acetate and other short-chain fatty acids. As with lactulose, they may also result in the growth of the fecal biomass, and in doing so, entrap ammonia for bacterial protein synthesis or conversion to the ammonium ion. As with dietary fiber and other nonabsorbable carbohydrates, there is also interest in inulin and oligofructose from the standpoint of inhibition of colonic carcinogenesis, blood cholesterol reduction, immune stimulation and enhanced vitamin synthesis. In these areas, the influence of their molecular weight is also an issue, with the longer chain length providing a more sustained fermentation pattern. More human studies are now required, including studies on the long-term effects of inulin and oligofructose consumption on colonic health, in particular on markers of cancer risk such as reduction in colonic polyp recurrence. (+info)
Dietary modulation of the human gut microflora using the prebiotics oligofructose and inulin.
(11/1007)
Although largely unproven in humans, better resistance to pathogens, reduction in blood lipids, antitumor properties, hormonal regulation and immune stimulation may all be possible through gut microflora manipulation. One approach advocates the oral intake of live microorganisms (probiotics). Although the probiotic approach has been extensively used and advocated, survivability/viability after ingestion is difficult to guarantee and almost impossible to prove. The prebiotic concept dictates that non viable dietary components fortify certain components of the intestinal flora (e.g., bifidobacteria, lactobacilli). This concept has the advantage that survival of the ingested ingredient through the upper gastrointestinal tract is not a prerequisite because it is indigenous bacterial genera that are targeted. The feeding of oligofructose and inulin to human volunteers alters the gut flora composition in favor of bifidobacteria, a purportedly beneficial genus. Future human studies that exploit the use of modern molecular-based detection methods for bacteria will determine the efficacy of prebiotics. It may be possible to address prophylactically certain gastrointestinal complaints through the selective targeting of gut bacteria. (+info)
Dose-response effects of inulin and oligofructose on intestinal bifidogenesis effects.
(12/1007)
Recent studies have identified several beneficial attributes of inulin (I) and oligofructose (OF) in human health. However, most of the studies pertaining to the physiologic role of these compounds have been conducted at higher concentrations (8-40 g/d) as a source of dietary fiber. There is growing interest in using I and OF as a substrate for the selective growth of beneficial gastrointestinal bacteria such as the bifidobacteria. In vitro fermentation studies using fecal inoculums have shown that I and OF are utilized rapidly and completely by intestinal microflora and that the degree of polymerization of the substrate influenced its rate of disappearance. In these and other studies, I and OF were shown to be efficient substrates for the growth of most strains of bifidobacteria compared with glucose. In vivo studies have also shown that when human volunteers ingested I or OF, the number of fecal bifidobacteria increased. However, when results from the reported studies are combined and analyzed, a dose-response relationship in terms of log increases in the count of bifidobacteria cannot be demonstrated. Initial numbers of bifidobacteria in the feces, independent of the dose of the fructo-oligosaccharides, seem to influence the results. Future investigations should consider this relationship carefully. (+info)
Petfood applications of inulin and oligofructose.
(13/1007)
Published data on intestinal microbiota of dogs and cats are limited but suggest the presence of a complex and diverse colonic bacterial population (34 genera including 129 species) the majority of which are anaerobes. During the colonic fermentation of endogenous and undigested amino acids, several putrefactive compounds (i.e., ammonia, aliphatic amines, indoles, phenols and volatile sulfur-containing compounds) are produced and are responsible for the malodor of dog and cat feces. These fecal odor components also have been implicated as causes of colorectal cancer; therefore, dietary manipulation of gut microbiota towards a potentially more remedial community (Bifidobacterium and Lactobacillus) is gaining more attention. The health benefits derived from dietary supplementation of prebiotics (e.g., oligofructose and inulin) have been documented in humans. However, little is known of a potentially similar role in companion animals. Feeding another prebiotic (i.e., lactosucrose) to dogs or cats is reported to increase the numbers of bifidobacteria and decrease the numbers of pathogens and the concentration of fecal odor components. In our laboratory, oligofructose supplementation numerically decreased the concentrations of ammonia and amines and increased the numbers of bifidobacteria in dog feces. (+info)
Possible mechanisms by which pro- and prebiotics influence colon carcinogenesis and tumor growth.
(14/1007)
Oligofructose and inulin, selective fermentable chicory fructans, have been shown to stimulate the growth of bifidobacteria, which are regarded as beneficial strains in the colon. Studies were designed to evaluate inulin (Raftiline) and oligofructose (Raftilose) for their potential inhibitory properties against the development of colonic aberrant crypt foci (ACF) in rats. ACF are putative preneoplastic lesions from which adenomas and carcinomas may develop in the colon. The results of this study indicate that dietary administration of oligofructose and inulin inhibits the development of ACF in the colon, suggesting the potential colon tumor inhibitory properties of chicory fructans. The degree of ACF inhibition was more pronounced in animals given inulin than in those fed oligofructose. Because these prebiotics selectively stimulate the growth of bifidobacteria, ornithine decarboxylase (ODC) activities, ras-p21 ontoprotein expressions and tumor inhibitory activity of lyophilized cultures of Bifidobacterium longum against chemically induced colon and mammary carcinogenesis and against colonic tumor cell proliferation were examined. Dietary administration of lyophilized cultures of B. longum strongly suppressed colon and mammary tumor development and tumor burden. Inhibition of colon carcinogenesis was associated with a decrease in colonic mucosal cell proliferation and activities of colonic mucosal and tumor ornithine decarboxylase and ras-p21. Human clinical trials are likely to broaden our insight into the importance of the pre- and probiotics in health and disease. (+info)
The effect of synbiotics on colon carcinogenesis in rats.
(15/1007)
Evidence indicates that consumption of probiotic microorganisms such as bifidobacteria reduces the risk of colon cancer in animal models. Feeding certain fructans such as oligofructose and inulin, which are thought to selectively increase the growth of intestinal bifidobacteria (i.e., a prebiotic effect), also has been shown to reduce colon cancer risk. The objective of our study was twofold, i. e., to determine whether the combination of bifidobacteria and oligofructose would have an additive effect (i.e., synbiotic) in reducing colon cancer risk in rats, and to determine whether other oligosaccharides would also be effective as part of a synbiotic combination. The development of colonic preneoplastic lesions (aberrant crypts) was used as an index of colon cancer risk. In one series of experiments, rats were given the carcinogen 1, 2-dimethylhydrazine (DMH) and administered one of the following treatments: skim milk (control), bifidobacteria (bifido), oligofructose (OF) or bifido + OF. Neither bifido nor OF alone significantly reduced aberrant crypt number. Bifido + OF reduced aberrant crypt number in five of six experiments, although the reduction was significant in only one. However, a paired comparison of the six experiments indicated a significant overall reduction in aberrant crypts by bifido + OF (P = 0.039). Soybean oligosaccharide (SBO) and wheat bran oligosaccharide (WBO) were also fed in combination with bifidobacteria. In two other experiments, SBO did not alter the number of aberrant crypts compared with the control, whereas WBO reduced aberrant crypt number in one experiment but not in another. Of OF, SBO and WBO, only SBO reduced the colonic mucosa proliferation compared with the control. These results suggest that the combination of bifidobacteria and oligofructose reduces colon cancer risk in carcinogen-treated rats, but the effect of other oligosaccharides is uncertain. (+info)
Role of 2-amino-3-carboxy-1,4-naphthoquinone, a strong growth stimulator for bifidobacteria, as an electron transfer mediator for NAD(P)(+) regeneration in Bifidobacterium longum.
(16/1007)
2-Amino-3-carboxy-1,4-naphthoquinone (ACNQ) is a novel growth stimulator for bifidobacteria. The role of ACNQ as a mediator of the electron transfer from NAD(P)H to dioxygen (O(2)) and hydrogen peroxide (H(2)O(2)), proposed in our previous paper, was examined using the cell-free extract and whole cells of Bifidobacterium longum. Continuous monitoring of ACNQ, O(2) and H(2)O(2) by several amperometric techniques has revealed that ACNQ works as a good electron acceptor of NAD(P)H diaphorase and that the reduced form of ACNQ is easily autoxidized and also acts as a better electron donor of NAD(P)H peroxidase than NAD(P)H. The generation of H(2)O(2) by B. longum under aerobic conditions is effectively suppressed in the presence of ACNQ. These ACNQ-mediated reactions would play roles as NAD(P)(+)-regeneration processes. The accumulation of ACNQ in the cytosol has been also suggested. These characteristics of ACNQ seem to be responsible for the growth stimulation of bifidobacteria. Vitamin K(3), which has an extremely low growth-stimulating activity and was used as a reference compound, exhibits much lower activity as an electron transfer mediator. The difference in the activity is discussed in terms of the redox potential and partition property of the quinones. (+info)