Tryptophan Catabolites from Microbiota Engage Aryl Hydrocarbon Receptor and Balance Mucosal Reactivity via Interleukin-22

Conversion of Biomass into Chemicals over Metal Catalysts

Industrial applications of enzyme biocatalysis: Current status and future aspects.

The emerging world of the fungal microbiome.

Synthesis and utilisation of sugar compounds derived from lignocellulosic biomass

It has been difficult to produce persistent colonization by Candida albicans in the gastrointestinal tract of adult mice without the use of antibiotics and immunosuppressants. We hypothesized that diet influences the colonization of C. albicans and tested the hypothesis. BALB/c mice fed either a commercial rodent diet or a nutritionally adequate mixture of purified ingredients were inoculated i.g. with C. albicans (5 x 10(7) cells). Gastrointestinal colonization was examined by fecal culture, tissue culture, and histology. Mice fed the purified diet had a high fecal recovery of C. albicans [5-6log(10) colony forming units (cfu)/g feces] throughout the experimental period (6 wk), and the major site of colonization was the stomach. C. albicans was undetectable in the feces of mice fed the commercial diet 2 wk after inoculation. Immunosuppressants induced systemic dissemination of C. albicans in mice fed the purified diet. The number of lactobacilli and the concentration of organic acids in the stomach were significantly lower in mice fed the purified diet than in those fed the commercial diet. In vitro culture experiments revealed that acetic and lactic acids suppressed the growth of C. albicans. These results suggest that a reduction in lactobacilli in the stomach of mice fed the purified diet contributed to sustained gastric candidiasis. We therefore propose a novel model of sustained gastric candidiasis by a single i.g. inoculation of C. albicans in healthy adult mice fed a purified diet.

Gastric Colonization of Candida albicans Differs in Mice Fed Commercial and Purified Diets

https://eprints.lib.hokudai.ac.jp/dspace/bitstream/2115/46769/1/CC12-11_980-983.pdf

Hydrogenolysis of sugar beet fiber by supported metal catalyst

Oral administration of raffinose, a naturally occurring indigestible oligosaccharide, has reportedly ameliorated atopic dermatitis in human subjects although the mechanism is unknown. The present study investigated the effect of dietary raffinose on allergen-induced airway eosinophilia in ovalbumin-sensitised Brown Norway rats as an atopic disease model. Brown Norway rats were immunised by subcutaneous injection with ovalbumin on day 0 and fed either a control diet or the diet supplemented with raffinose (50 g/kg diet). The rats were exposed to aerosolised ovalbumin on day 20, and broncho-alveolar lavage fluid was obtained on the next day. The number of eosinophils in the fluid was significantly lower in the rats fed the raffinose diet than in those fed the control diet. Dietary raffinose significantly reduced IL-4 and IL-5 mRNA levels in lung tissue and tended to lower ovalbumin-specific Ig E levels. Suppression of eosinophilia by dietary raffinose was still observed in caecectomised and neomycin-administered rats, suggesting little contribution by the colonic bacteria to the effect of raffinose. Intraperitoneal administration of raffinose also suppressed eosinophilia. Significant concentrations of raffinose were detected in portal venous and abdominal arterial plasma after the intragastric administration of raffinose. Overall, the findings suggest that dietary raffinose ameliorates allergic airway eosinophilia at least partly via post-absorptive mechanisms in Brown Norway rats.

/pdf/reduction-of-allergic-airway-eosinophilia-by-dietary-1a76p4knbk.pdf

Reduction of allergic airway eosinophilia by dietary raffinose in Brown Norway rats.

Industrial production of difructose anhydride III (DFA III) from crude inulin extracted from chicory roots using Arthrobacter sp. H65-7 fructosyltransferase.

Inulin-type fructan ameliorates metabolic diseases associated with obesity in animals. However, relatively little information is available on the comparative effects of inulins with different degree of polymerization (DP) on the lipid or glucose metabolism. The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of inulins with various DP on metabolic disorders associated with obesity in rats fed a high-fat diet under food restriction. Rats were fed a high-fat diet supplemented with 5 % inulin-GR (Raftiline GR), inulin-Tokachi (Tokachi), or inulin-HP (Raftiline HP) without cellulose for 28 days at normal energy intakes or 14.5 % energy restriction. Under food restriction, the dietary inulin-Tokachi (mean DP 15) and -HP (mean DP 24), but not -GR (mean DP 10), reduced (p < 0.05) the serum cholesterol and triglyceride levels, and liver triglyceride concentration in rats, compared to the control diet. The cecal neutral steroid, bile acid, and propionate concentrations in the Tokachi and HP groups were higher (p < 0.05) than in the CONT group, and the cecal Bifidobacterium count in the Tokachi group was higher (p < 0.05) than in the other groups. Findings suggest that, depending on DP, dietary supplementation with inulin (DP 15 or DP 24) in rats fed a high-fat diet, regardless of food intake, positively modulates lipid metabolism and fecal microbiota but not glucose metabolism.

Inulin-type fructans with different degrees of polymerization improve lipid metabolism but not glucose metabolism in rats fed a high-fat diet under energy restriction.

Tsutomu Aritsuka

Papers

Gastric Colonization of Candida albicans Differs in Mice Fed Commercial and Purified Diets

Hydrogenolysis of sugar beet fiber by supported metal catalyst

Reduction of allergic airway eosinophilia by dietary raffinose in Brown Norway rats.

Industrial production of difructose anhydride III (DFA III) from crude inulin extracted from chicory roots using Arthrobacter sp. H65-7 fructosyltransferase.

Inulin-type fructans with different degrees of polymerization improve lipid metabolism but not glucose metabolism in rats fed a high-fat diet under energy restriction.