Effect of inulin supplementation on selected gastric, duodenal, and caecal microbiota and short chain fatty acid pattern in growing piglets.

We explored whether bifidobacteria and lactobacilli numbers and other selected bacteria in the upper intestine and the caecum of growing pigs were affected by diet and intake of inulin. Starting at two weeks after weaning (28 d) 72 pigs were fed two types of diets (wheat/barley (WB) or maize/gluten (MG)), without or with 3% inulin (WB + I, MG + I) for three and six weeks. Intestinal bacteria were quantified by fluorescence-in-situ-hybridization (n = 8/group).

Jerusalem artichoke and chicory inulin in bakery products affect faecal microbiota of healthy volunteers.

A study was conducted to test the effects of Jerusalem artichoke inulin (JA) or chicory inulin (CH) in snack bars on composition of faecal microbiota, concentration of faecal SCFA, bowel habit and gastrointestinal symptoms. Forty-five volunteers participated in a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled, parallel-group study. At the end of a 7 d run-in period, subjects were randomly assigned to three groups of fifteen subjects each, consuming either snack bars with CH or JA, or snack bars without fructans (placebo); for 7 d (adaptation period), they ingested one snack bar per day (7.

Inulin alters the intestinal microbiota and short-chain fatty acid concentrations in growing pigs regardless of their basal diet.

Inulin stimulates intestinal bifidobacteria in humans and rodents but its effect in pigs is inconsistent. We assessed the effect of inulin on the intestinal microbiota by fluorescent in situ hybridization in growing pigs (age 9-12 wk). Pigs (n = 64) were assigned to 2 types of basal diets [wheat and barley (WB) or corn and wheat gluten (CG)] with or without 3% inulin (WBI or CGI) for 3 and 6 wk (n = 8/group) to test whether naturally occurring dietary fibers influence the inulin effect.

Microbial and immunological responses relative to high-altitude exposure in mountaineers.

Purpose: High-altitude exposure is often associated with gastrointestinal disorders, inflammation, and an increased risk of infection. We suspected microbial and immunological responses to high-altitude exposure in mountaineers resulting from changes in the balance of the intestinal microflora.

Methods: We investigated fecal samples and serum of seven mountaineers who took part in a 47-d German expedition to the Nepalese Himalayas in 2002, for microbial response by changes in different fecal bacterial population groups (fluorescent in situ hybridization), immune response by serum levels of IgG-, IgM-, and IgA anti-LPS (E.

Modulation of gut mucosal biofilms.

Non-digestible inulin-type fructans, such as oligofructose and high-molecular-weight inulin, have been shown to have the ability to alter the intestinal microbiota composition in such a way that members of the microbial community, generally considered as health-promoting, are stimulated. Bifidobacteria and lactobacilli are the most frequently targeted organisms. Less information exists on effects of inulin-type fructans on the composition, metabolism and health-related significance of bacteria at or near the mucosa surface or in the mucus layer forming mucosa-associated biofilms.

Jerusalem artichokes stimulate growth of broiler chickens and protect them against endotoxins and potential cecal pathogens.

Control of intestinal pathogens during the earliest phases of broiler production may be the best strategy for the reduction of human pathogens on processed broiler carcasses. The recent ban on antibiotics in poultry feed has served to focus much attention on alternative methods of controlling the gastrointestinal microflora. A field trial was conducted to evaluate the effect of the fructan-rich Jerusalem artichoke, or topinambur (administered as 0.

Fructans in the diet cause alterations of intestinal mucosal architecture, released mucins and mucosa-associated bifidobacteria in gnotobiotic rats.

The effects of fructans in the diet on the mucosal morphometry (height of villi, depth of the crypts, number of goblet cells), the thickness of the epithelial mucus layer and the histochemical composition of intestinal mucosubstances in the distal jejunum and the distal colon were investigated by comparing germ-free (GF) rats, rats harbouring Bacteroides vulgatus and Bifidobacterium longum (diassociated (DA) rats), and rats with a human faecal flora (HFA). The rats were fed either a commercial standard diet (ST) or ST + (50 g oligofructose (OF)-long-chain inulin (lcIN))/kg. Changes in total bacteria, bifidobacteria and Bacteroides-Prevotella in response to feeding these diets were investigated by fluorescent in situ hybridization with 16S rRNA-targeted probes both in intestinal contents (lumen bacteria) and tissue sections (mucosa-associated bacteria).