| HOME | HELP | FEEDBACK | SUBSCRIPTIONS | ARCHIVE | SEARCH | TABLE OF CONTENTS |
|
|
|
|||||||
|
|||||||||
Supplement |
1 From the Dunn Nutrition Unit, Dunn Clinical Nutrition Centre, Cambridge, United Kingdom.
Prebiotics, as currently conceived of, are all carbohydrates of relatively short chain length. To be effective they must reach the cecum. Present evidence concerning the 2 most studied prebiotics, fructooligosaccharides and inulin, is consistent with their resisting digestion by gastric acid and pancreatic enzymes in vivo. However, the wide variety of new candidate prebiotics becoming available for human use requires that a manageable set of in vitro tests be agreed on so that their nondigestibility and fermentability can be established without recourse to human studies in every case. In the large intestine, prebiotics, in addition to their selective effects on bifidobacteria and lactobacilli, influence many aspects of bowel function through fermentation. Short-chain fatty acids are a major product of prebiotic breakdown, but as yet, no characteristic pattern of fermentation acids has been identified. Through stimulation of bacterial growth and fermentation, prebiotics affect bowel habit and are mildly laxative. Perhaps more importantly, some are a potent source of hydrogen in the gut. Mild flatulence is frequently observed by subjects being fed prebiotics; in a significant number of subjects it is severe enough to be unacceptable and to discourage consumption. Prebiotics are like other carbohydrates that reach the cecum, such as nonstarch polysaccharides, sugar alcohols, and resistant starch, in being substrates for fermentation. They are, however, distinctive in their selective effect on the microflora and their propensity to produce flatulence.
Key Words: Prebiotic • oligosaccharide • bacteria • large intestine • fermentation • short-chain fatty acids • carbohydrate
This article has been cited by other articles:
|
|
 |
|
  J. Zhou, R. J. Martin, R. T. Tulley, A. M. Raggio, K. L. McCutcheon, L. Shen, S. C. Danna, S. Tripathy, M. Hegsted, and M. J. Keenan Dietary resistant starch upregulates total GLP-1 and PYY in a sustained day-long manner through fermentation in rodents Am J Physiol Endocrinol Metab, November 1, 2008; 295(5): E1160 - E1166. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 L. M. Donalson, J. L. McReynolds, W. K. Kim, V. I. Chalova, C. L. Woodward, L. F. Kubena, D. J. Nisbet, and S. C. Ricke The Influence of a Fructooligosaccharide Prebiotic Combined with Alfalfa Molt Diets on the Gastrointestinal Tract Fermentation, Salmonella Enteritidis Infection, and Intestinal Shedding in Laying Hens Poult. Sci., July 1, 2008; 87(7): 1253 - 1262. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
L. M. Donalson, W. K. Kim, V. I. Chalova, P. Herrera, J. L. McReynolds, V. G. Gotcheva, D. Vidanovic, C. L. Woodward, L. F. Kubena, D. J. Nisbet, et al. In Vitro Fermentation Response of Laying Hen Cecal Bacteria to Combinations of Fructooligosaccharide Prebiotics with Alfalfa or a Layer Ration Poult. Sci., July 1, 2008; 87(7): 1263 - 1275. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 A. C Nilsson, E. M Ostman, Y. Granfeldt, and I. M. Bjorck Effect of cereal test breakfasts differing in glycemic index and content of indigestible carbohydrates on daylong glucose tolerance in healthy subjects Am. J. Clinical Nutrition, March 1, 2008; 87(3): 645 - 654. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 V. Coxam Current Data with Inulin-Type Fructans and Calcium, Targeting Bone Health in Adults J. Nutr., November 1, 2007; 137(11): 2527S - 2533S. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 T. Vanhoutte, V. De Preter, E. De Brandt, K. Verbeke, J. Swings, and G. Huys Molecular Monitoring of the Fecal Microbiota of Healthy Human Subjects during Administration of Lactulose and Saccharomyces boulardii Appl. Envir. Microbiol., September 1, 2006; 72(9): 5990 - 5997. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 Y Okada, Y Tsuzuki, J Miyazaki, K Matsuzaki, R Hokari, S Komoto, S Kato, A Kawaguchi, S Nagao, K Itoh, et al. Propionibacterium freudenreichii component 1.4-dihydroxy-2-naphthoic acid (DHNA) attenuates dextran sodium sulphate induced colitis by modulation of bacterial flora and lymphocyte homing Gut, May 1, 2006; 55(5): 681 - 688. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
L. Makras, G. Van Acker, and L. De Vuyst Lactobacillus paracasei subsp. paracasei 8700:2 Degrades Inulin-Type Fructans Exhibiting Different Degrees of Polymerization Appl. Envir. Microbiol., November 1, 2005; 71(11): 6531 - 6537. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
M. T. Liong and N. P. Shah Optimization of Cholesterol Removal by Probiotics in the Presence of Prebiotics by Using a Response Surface Method Appl. Envir. Microbiol., April 1, 2005; 71(4): 1745 - 1753. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
D. Chinda, S. Nakaji, S. Fukuda, J. Sakamoto, T. Shimoyama, T. Nakamura, T. Fujisawa, A. Terada, and K. Sugawara The Fermentation of Different Dietary Fibers Is Associated with Fecal Clostridia Levels in Men J. Nutr., August 1, 2004; 134(8): 1881 - 1886. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
I M J Bovee-Oudenhoven, S J M ten Bruggencate, M L G Lettink-Wissink, and R van der Meer Dietary fructo-oligosaccharides and lactulose inhibit intestinal colonisation but stimulate translocation of salmonella in rats Gut, November 1, 2003; 52(11): 1572 - 1578. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 P. Kurdi, H. Tanaka, H. W. van Veen, K. Asano, F. Tomita, and A. Yokota Cholic acid accumulation and its diminution by short-chain fatty acids in bifidobacteria Microbiology, August 1, 2003; 149(8): 2031 - 2037. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
C. H Halsted Dietary supplements and functional foods: 2 sides of a coin? Am. J. Clinical Nutrition, April 1, 2003; 77(4): 1001S - 1007. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
C. Duggan, J. Gannon, and W A. Walker Protective nutrients and functional foods for the gastrointestinal tract Am. J. Clinical Nutrition, May 1, 2002; 75(5): 789 - 808. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
M. B Roberfroid Prebiotics: preferential substrates for specific germs? Am. J. Clinical Nutrition, February 1, 2001; 73(2): 406S - 409. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
| HOME | HELP | FEEDBACK | SUBSCRIPTIONS | ARCHIVE | SEARCH | TABLE OF CONTENTS |
