A mixed culture of human fecal bacteria was grown for 120 days in a three-stage continuous culture system. To reproduce some of the nutritional and pH characteristics of the large gut, each vessel had a different operating volume (0.3, 0.5, and 0.8 liter) and pH (6.0, 6.5, and 7.0). A mixture of polysaccharides and proteins was used as carbon and nitrogen sources. Measurements of H2, CH4, S2-, ...

BACKGROUND Gut ischaemia may contribute to morbidity in sepsis, but little is known about the metabolic state of the gut mucosa in such patients. METHODS Nine patients with abdominal septic shock treated with norepinephrine, and ten healthy subjects, were subjected to equilibrium dialysis with a rectal balloon. pH, PCO(2) and concentrations of L-lactate were measured by auto-analyser. RESUL...

Escherichia coli and Gram-negative bacteria that live in the human gut must be able to tolerate rapid and large changes in environmental pH. Low pH irreversibly denatures and precipitates many bacterial proteins. While cytoplasmic proteins are well buffered against such swings, periplasmic proteins are not. Instead, it appears that some bacteria utilize chaperone proteins that stabilize peripla...

Urea is freely diffusible from the blood into the lumen of the alimentary tract, where it is converted by the enzyme urease into ammonia and CO2. Tracer studies indicate that at least 25% of the urea in the body undergoes hydrolysis within the gut (Walser and Bodenlos, 1959), but a proportion of the ammonia produced is absorbed and re-synthesized to urea in the liver. The practical importance o...

1. Effects of short-chain fatty acids (SCFA) on epithelial proliferation of the intestine were studied in ileally fistulated rats fed on an elemental diet. 2. The stimulatory effect of daily doses of acetic, propionic and n-butyric acids (100, 20 and 60 mM respectively; pH 6.1) per fistula (3 ml, twice daily) on crypt cell production rate (CCPR) appeared within 2 d and lasted for at least 5 d. ...

Candida yeasts are the dominant fungi in the healthy human microbiome, but are well-known for causing disease following a variety of perturbations. Evaluation of fungal populations from the healthy human gut revealed a significant negative correlation between the foodborne yeast, Debaryomyces hansenii, and Candida species. D. hansenii is reported to produce killer toxins (mycocins) effective ag...

We review geophagy, or soil ingestion, in primates. This behaviour is widespread and is presumed to be important to health and nutrition. Primates may engage in geophagy for one or a combination of reasons. Here we present, and make a preliminary assessment of, six nonexclusive hypotheses that may contribute to the prevalence of geophagy. Four hypotheses relate to geophagy in alleviating gastro...

Bombyx mori L. (Lepidoptera: Bombycidae) have been domesticated and widely used for silk production. It feeds on mulberry leaves. Mulberry leaves are mainly composed of pectin, xylan, cellulose and starch. Some of the digestive enzymes that degrade these carbohydrates might be produced by gut bacteria. Eleven isolates were obtained from the digestive tract of B. mori, including the Gram positiv...

Intracellular proteolysis of ingested blood proteins is a crucial physiological process in ticks. In our model tick, Ixodes ricinus, cathepsin L (IrCL1) is part of a gut-associated multi-peptidase complex; its endopeptidase activity is important in the initial phase of haemoglobinolysis. We present the functional and biochemical characterisation of this enzyme. We show, by RNA interference (RNA...

Recognizing the composition and modulation of microbiome, a viable therapeutic tool for multi-targeted therapy is new strategy that has recently been explored. Glucosamine (GS) being studied its prebiotic potential in addition to most abundant naturally occurring amino monosaccharide. The current study focuses on glucosamine’s by assessing stability various GS concentrations (1% - 5%) gastroint...