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Journal ArticleDOI

Microbiological Effects of Consuming a Synbiotic Containing Bifidobacterium bifidum, Bifidobacterium lactis, and Oligofructose in Elderly Persons, Determined by Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction and Counting of Viable Bacteria

01 Jan 2005-Clinical Infectious Diseases (Oxford University Press)-Vol. 40, Iss: 1, pp 28-37
TL;DR: Synbiotic consumption increased the size and diversity of protective fecal bifidobacterial populations, which are often very much reduced in older people.
Abstract: Background Because of changes in gut physiology, immune system reactivity, and diet, elderly people are more susceptible to gastrointestinal infections than are younger adults. The gut microflora, which provides a natural defense against invading microorganisms, changes in elderly people with the development of potentially damaging bacterial populations, which may lead to alterations in bacterial metabolism and higher levels of infection. Methods A randomized, double-blind, controlled feeding trial was done with 18 healthy elderly volunteers (age, >62 years) using a synbiotic comprising Bifidobacterium bifidum BB-02 and Bifidobacterium lactis BL-01 (probiotics) together with an inulin-based prebiotic (Synergy 1; Orafti). Real-time PCR was employed to quantitate total bifidobacteria, B. bifidum, and B. lactis in fecal DNA before, during, and after synbiotic consumption. Counting all viable anaerobes, bifidobacteria, and lactobacilli and identification of bacterial isolates to species level was also done. Results Throughout feeding, both bifidobacteria species were detected in fecal samples obtained from all subjects receiving the synbiotic, with significant increases in the number of copies of the 16S rRNA genes of B. bifidum, B. lactis, and total bifidobacteria, compared with the control week and the placebo group. At least 1 of these species remained detectable in fecal samples 3 weeks after feeding in individuals that had no fecal B. bifidum and/or B. lactis in the control week, indicating that the probiotics persisted in the volunteers. Counting of viable organisms showed significantly higher total numbers of fecal bifidobacteria, total numbers of lactobacilli, and numbers of B. bifidum during synbiotic feeding. Conclusion Synbiotic consumption increased the size and diversity of protective fecal bifidobacterial populations, which are often very much reduced in older people.

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Citations
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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Aliment Pharmacol Ther 2010; 32: 872–883.
Abstract: Aliment Pharmacol Ther 2010; 32: 872–883 Summary Background Crohn’s disease is an inflammatory illness in which the immune response against gut microorganisms is believed to drive an abnormal immune response. Consequently, modification of mucosal bacterial communities, and the immune effects they elicit, might be used to modify the disease state. Aim To investigate the effects of synbiotic consumption on disease processes in patients with Crohn's disease. Methods A randomized, double-blind placebo-controlled trial was conducted involving 35 patients with active Crohn's disease, using a synbiotic comprising Bifidobacterium longum and Synergy 1. Clinical status was scored and rectal biopsies were collected at the start, and at 3- and 6-month intervals. Transcription levels of immune markers and mucosal bacterial 16S rRNA gene copy numbers were quantified using real-time PCR. Results Significant improvements in clinical outcomes occurred with synbiotic consumption, with reductions in both Crohn's disease activity indices (P = 0.020) and histological scores (P = 0.018). The synbiotic had little effect on mucosal IL-18, INF-γ and IL-1β; however, significant reductions occurred in TNF-α expression in synbiotic patients at 3 months (P = 0.041), although not at 6 months. Mucosal bifidobacteria proliferated in synbiotic patients. Conclusion Synbiotic consumption was effective in improving clinical symptoms in patients with active Crohn's disease.

192 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The present review aims at summarizing the current knowledge on intestinal microbiota alterations and other functions impaired in the elderly and to analyze tools for implementing nutritional strategies, through the use of probiotics, prebiotics or specific nutrients in order to counterbalance such alterations.
Abstract: The gut microbiota is the assembly of microorganisms living in our intestine and their genomes are known as the microbiome. The correct composition and functionality of this microbiome is essential for maintaining a "healthy status." Aging is related to changes in the gut microbiota which are frequently associated with physiological modifications of the gastrointestinal tract, as well as, to changes in dietary patterns, together with a concomitant decline in cognitive and immune function, all together contributing to frailty. Therefore, nutritional strategies directed at restoring the microbiota in the elderly have to be addressed from a global perspective, considering not only the microbiota but also other extra-intestinal targets of action. The present review aims at summarizing the current knowledge on intestinal microbiota alterations and other functions impaired in the elderly and to analyze tools for implementing nutritional strategies, through the use of probiotics, prebiotics or specific nutrients in order to counterbalance such alterations.

188 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
Haifeng Lu1, Zhongwen Wu1, Wei Xu1, Jiezuan Yang1, Yunbo Chen1, Lanjuan Li1 
TL;DR: Fecal secretory IgA and tumor necrosis factor-α in decompensated HBV cirrhotic patients were present at higher levels than in other groups, which indicates that a complicated autoregulatory system tries to achieve a new intestinal microecological balance.
Abstract: To unravel the profile of intestinal microecological parameters in Chinese patients with asymptomatic carriage of hepatitis B virus (HBV), chronic hepatitis B, decompensated HBV cirrhosis, and health controls and to establish their correlation with liver disease progression, we performed quantitative PCR and immunological techniques to investigate fecal parameters, including population of fecal predominant bacteria and the abundance of some virulence genes derived from Escherichia coli, Bacteroides fragilis, Clostridium difficile, and Clostridium perfringens in fecal crude DNA and some immunological parameters in extracts of all fecal samples. Data analysis indicated that 16S rRNA gene copy numbers for Faecalibacterium prausnitzii, Enterococcus faecalis, Enterobacteriaceae, bifidobacteria, and lactic acid bacteria (Lactobacillus, Pediococcus, Leuconostoc, and Weissella) showed marked variation in the intestine of HBV cirrhotic patients. The Bifidobacteria/Enterobacteriaceae (B/E) ratio, which may indicate microbial colonization resistance of the bowel, was decreased significantly in turn from 1.15 ± 0.11 in healthy controls, 0.99 ± 0.09 in asymptomatic carriers, and 0.76 ± 0.08 in patients with chronic hepatitis B to 0.64 ± 0.09 in patients with decompensated HBV cirrhosis (for all, P < 0.01). This suggests that B/E ratio is useful for following the level of intestinal microecological disorder in the course of liver disease progression. The data for virulence gene abundance suggested increased diversity of virulence factors during liver disease progression. Fecal secretory IgA and tumor necrosis factor-α in decompensated HBV cirrhotic patients were present at higher levels than in other groups, which indicates that a complicated autoregulatory system tries to achieve a new intestinal microecological balance.

182 citations


Cites background from "Microbiological Effects of Consumin..."

  • ...The integrity of DNA was checked by agarose gel electrophoresis and UV-light photography with ethidium bromide staining....

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  • ...(4) Patients with decompensated HBV cirrhosis: HBsAg positive, HBeAg positive, and HBV DNA detectable with cirrhosis, based on liver biopsy or obvious findings on ultrasound imaging, but without GI bleeding....

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  • ...Although rRNA gene copies cannot be directly converted into cell numbers due to different numbers of rRNA operons in different species, plasmid DNA standards are often used because they can generate easily standards that can be independently quantified and converted to numbers of copies of target DNA [2, 3, 42]....

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  • ...(3) Patients with chronic hepatitis B: HBsAg positive, HBeAg positive, and HBV DNA detectable with abnormal liver function tests....

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  • ...The copy number of virulence genes per microliter of crude DNA template was determined by comparison with serially diluting plasmid DNA standards running on the same plate....

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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: A large number of research data on Lactobacillus GG is the basis for the use of this probiotic for human health and the effectiveness of LGG in gastrointestinal infections and diarrhea, antibiotic and Clostridium difficile associated diarrhea, irritable bowel syndrome, inflammatory bowel disease, respiratory tract infections, allergy, cardiovascular diseases, non alcoholic fatty liver disease, nonalcoholic steatohepatitis, cystic fibrosis, cancer, elderly end sport were analyzed.
Abstract: Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG (LGG) was the first strain belonging to the genus Lactobacillus to be patented in 1989 thanks to its ability to survive and to proliferate at gastric acid pH and in medium containing bile, and to adhere to enterocytes. Furthermore LGG is able to produces both a biofilm that can mechanically protect the mucosa, and different soluble factors beneficial to the gut by enhancing intestinal crypt survival, diminishing apoptosis of the intestinal epithelium, and preserving cytoskeletal integrity. Moreover LGG thanks to its lectin-like protein 1 and 2 inhibits some pathogens such as Salmonella species. Finally LGG is able to promote type 1 immune-responsiveness by reducing the expression of several activation and inflammation markers on monocytes and by increasing the production of interleukin-10, interleukin-12 and tumor necrosis factor-α in macrophages. A large number of research data on Lactobacillus GG is the basis for the use of this probiotic for human health. In this review we have considered predominantly randomized controlled trials, meta-analysis, Cochrane Review, guide lines of Scientific Societies and anyway studies whose results were evaluated by means of relative risk, odds ratio, weighted mean difference 95% confidence interval. The effectiveness of LGG in gastrointestinal infections and diarrhea, antibiotic and Clostridium difficile associated diarrhea, irritable bowel syndrome, inflammatory bowel disease, respiratory tract infections, allergy, cardiovascular diseases, nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, nonalcoholic steatohepatitis, cystic fibrosis, cancer, elderly end sport were analyzed.

177 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Diversity of RAPD types found in food versus human samples suggests the importance of host factors in colonization and individual host specificity, and support the hypothesis that there is a vertical transfer of intestinal LAB from the mother's gut to her milk and through the milk to the infant's gut.

174 citations

References
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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: By combining the rationale of pro- and prebiotics, the concept of synbiotics is proposed to characterize some colonic foods with interesting nutritional properties that make these compounds candidates for classification as health-enhancing functional food ingredients.
Abstract: Because the human gut microbiota can play a major role in host health, there is currently some interest in the manipulation of the composition of the gut flora towards a potentially more remedial community. Attempts have been made to increase bacterial groups such as Bifidobacterium and Lactobacillus that are perceived as exerting health-promoting properties. Probiotics, defined as microbial food supplements that beneficially affect the host by improving its intestinal microbial balance, have been used to change the composition of colonic microbiota. However, such changes may be transient, and the implantation of exogenous bacteria therefore becomes limited. In contrast, prebiotics are nondigestible food ingredients that beneficially affect the host by selectively stimulating the growth and/or activity of one or a limited number of bacterial species already resident in the colon, and thus attempt to improve host health. Intake of prebiotics can significantly modulate the colonic microbiota by increasing the number of specific bacteria and thus changing the composition of the microbiota. Nondigestible oligosaccharides in general, and fructooligosaccharides in particular, are prebiotics. They have been shown to stimulate the growth of endogenous bifidobacteria, which, after a short feeding period, become predominant in human feces. Moreover, these prebiotics modulate lipid metabolism, most likely via fermentation products. By combining the rationale of pro- and prebiotics, the concept of synbiotics is proposed to characterize some colonic foods with interesting nutritional properties that make these compounds candidates for classification as health-enhancing functional food ingredients.

7,232 citations


"Microbiological Effects of Consumin..." refers background in this paper

  • ...Inulin-type fructans are commonly used prebiotics, which have been defined as nondigestible dietary components that selectively stimulate the growth and/or activities of bacteria in the large bowel [15]....

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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors used probiotic treatments to re-establish the natural condition which exists in the wild animal but which has been disrupted by modern trends in conditions used for rearing young animals, including human babies, and in modern approaches to nutrition and disease therapy.
Abstract: There is good evidence that the complex microbial flora present in the gastrointestinal tract of all warm-blooded animals is effective in providing resistance to disease. However, the composition of this protective flora can be altered by dietary and environmental influences, making the host animal susceptible to disease and/or reducing its efficiency of food utilization. What we are doing with the probiotic treatments is re-establishing the natural condition which exists in the wild animal but which has been disrupted by modern trends in conditions used for rearing young animals, including human babies, and in modern approaches to nutrition and disease therapy. These are all areas where the gut flora can be altered for the worse and where, by the administration of probiotics, the natural balance of the gut microflora can be restored and the animal returned to its normal nutrition, growth and health status.

4,055 citations

Journal Article
TL;DR: These are all areas where the gut flora can be altered for the worse and where, by the administration of probiotics, the natural balance of the gut microflora can be restored and the animal returned to its normal nutrition, growth and health status.
Abstract: There is good evidence that the complex microbial flora present in the gastrointestinal tract of all warm-blooded animals is effective in providing resistance to disease. However, the composition of this protective flora can be altered by dietary and environmental influences, making the host animal susceptible to disease and/or reducing its efficiency of food utilization. What we are doing with the probiotic treatments is re-establishing the natural condition which exists in the wild animal but which has been disrupted by modern trends in conditions used for rearing young animals, including human babies, and in modern approaches to nutrition and disease therapy. These are all areas where the gut flora can be altered for the worse and where, by the administration of probiotics, the natural balance of the gut microflora can be restored and the animal returned to its normal nutrition, growth and health status.

3,391 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: This work has created a phylogenetically arranged report on rRNA gene copy number for a diverse collection of prokaryotic microorganisms in an attempt to understand the evolutionary implications of rRNA operon redundancy.
Abstract: The Ribosomal RNA Operon Copy Number Database (rrndb) is an Internet-accessible database containing annotated information on rRNA operon copy number among prokaryotes. Gene redundancy is uncommon in prokaryotic genomes, yet the rRNA genes can vary from one to as many as 15 copies. Despite the widespread use of 16S rRNA gene sequences for identification of prokaryotes, information on the number and sequence of individual rRNA genes in a genome is not readily accessible. In an attempt to understand the evolutionary implications of rRNA operon redundancy, we have created a phylogenetically arranged report on rRNA gene copy number for a diverse collection of prokaryotic microorganisms. Each entry (organism) in the rrndb contains detailed information linked directly to external websites including the Ribosomal Database Project, GenBank, PubMed and several culture collections. Data contained in the rrndb will be valuable to researchers investigating microbial ecology and evolution using 16S rRNA gene sequences. The rrndb web site is directly accessible on the WWW at http://rrndb.cme.msu.edu.

1,051 citations


Additional excerpts

  • ...The aim of this double-blind, randomized, controlled feeding trial was to study the effects of ingestion of a synbiotic containing 2 bifidobacterial species (Bifidobacterium bifidum BB-02 and Bifidobacterium lactis BL-01) and oligofructose on the composition of intestinal bifidobacteria and Lactobacillus populations in older people....

    [...]

  • ...Another reason why rRNA gene copy numbers were higher than cell numbers is that rRNA operons vary widely in bacteria, and between 2 to 5 rRNA operons have been found in different species belonging to the genus Bifidobacterium [34]....

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  • ...A randomized, double-blind, controlled feeding trial was done with 18 healthy elderly volunteers (age, 162 years) using a synbiotic comprising Bifidobacterium bifidum BB-02 and Bifidobacterium lactis BL-01 (probiotics) together with an inulin-based prebiotic (Synergy 1; Orafti)....

    [...]

  • ...With use of primers specific for the genus Bifidobacterium, significantly higher copy numbers of target DNA were found in the synbiotic group during the feeding period (weeks 4 and 5) and during the postfeeding period (weeks 6 and 8) (table 4)....

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  • ...Bifidobacterium adolescentis, Bifidobacterium angulatum, and Bi- Synbiotic Feeding Study • CID 2005:40 (1 January) • 33 fidobacterium dentium predominated (table 2); Bifidobacterium breve, Bifidobacterium longum, and Bifidobacterium pullorum were occasionally found; and Bifidobacterium boum and Bifidobacterium catenulatum were detected in only a few stool samples....

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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Since the total culturable counts were only a fraction of the total microscopic counts, the contribution of bifidobacteria to the total intestinal microflora was overestimated by almost 10-fold when cultural methods were used as the sole method for enumeration.
Abstract: Three 16S rRNA hybridization probes were developed and tested for genus-specific detection of Bifidobacterium species in the human fecal flora. Variable regions V2, V4, and V8 of the 16S rRNA contained sequences unique to this genus and proved applicable as target sites for oligodeoxynucleotide probes. Determination of the genus specificity of the oligonucleotides was performed by whole-cell hybridization with fluorescein isothiocyanate-labelled probes. To this end, cells were fixed on glass slides, hybridized with the probes, and monitored by videomicroscopy. In combination with image analysis, this allowed quantification of the fluorescence per cell and objective evaluation of hybridization experiments. One of the probes developed was used to determine the population of Bifidobacterium spp. in human fecal samples. A comparison was made with results obtained by cultural methods for enumeration. Since both methods gave similar population estimates, it was concluded that all bifidobacteria in feces were culturable. However, since the total culturable counts were only a fraction of the total microscopic counts, the contribution of bifidobacteria to the total intestinal microflora was overestimated by almost 10-fold when cultural methods were used as the sole method for enumeration.

979 citations


"Microbiological Effects of Consumin..." refers background in this paper

  • ...Bifidobacterium genus Bif164F 5′-GGG TGG TAA TGC CGG ATG-3′ 457 59 [22] Bif601R 5′-TAA GCC ATG GAC TTT CAC ACC-3′ ....

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