Inclusion of Oat in Feeding Can Increase the Potential Probiotic Bifidobacteria in Sow Milk

The objectives of this study were to (i) investigate the impact of feeding oat on the population of bifidobacteria and (ii) evaluate their probiotic potential. In this study, we investigated the effects of supplementing sows' gestation and lactation feed with 15% oat (prebiotic source) on the levels of probiotic population in milk. We found that dietary inclusion of oat during lactation and gestation resulted in increased levels of bifidobacteria compared to lactobacilli in sow milk. Furthermore bifidobacteria within the sow milk samples were further evaluated for probiotic potential based on aggregating properties, and acid- and bile-tolerance after exposure to hydrochloric acid (pH 2.5) and bile salts (0%, 0.25%, 0.50%, 1.0% and 2.0%). All isolates survived under the condition of low pH and bile 2.0%. Autoaggregation ability ranged from 17.5% to 73%. These isolates also showed antimicrobial activity against E. coli O157:H7.Together our results suggest that inclusion of oat in feeding systems could have the potential to improve the intestinal health of piglets by increasing the population of bifidobacteria.

Up-regulating the human intestinal microbiome using whole plant foods, polyphenols, and/or fiber

Whole plant foods, including fruit, vegetables, and whole grain cereals, protect against chronic human diseases such as heart disease and cancer, with fiber and polyphenols thought to contribute significantly. These bioactive food components interact with the gut microbiota, with gut bacteria modifying polyphenol bioavailability and activity, and with fiber, constituting the main energy source for colonic fermentation. This paper discusses the consequences of increasing the consumption of whole plant foods on the gut microbiota and subsequent implications for human health. In humans, whole grain cereals can modify fecal bacterial profiles, increasing relative numbers of bifidobacteria and lactobacilli. Polyphenol-rich chocolate and certain fruits have also been shown to increase fecal bifidobacteria. The recent FLAVURS study provides novel information on the impact of high fruit and vegetable diets on the gut microbiota. Increasing whole plant food consumption appears to up-regulate beneficial commensal bacteria and may contribute toward the health effects of these foods.

Obesity and the gut microbiota: does up-regulating colonic fermentation protect against obesity and metabolic disease?

Obesity is now considered a major public health concern globally as it predisposes to a number of chronic human diseases. Most developed countries have experienced a dramatic and significant rise in obesity since the 1980s, with obesity apparently accompanying, hand in hand, the adoption of "Western"-style diets and low-energy expenditure lifestyles around the world. Recent studies report an aberrant gut microbiota in obese subjects and that gut microbial metabolic activities, especially carbohydrate fermentation and bile acid metabolism, can impact on a number of mammalian physiological functions linked to obesity. The aim of this review is to present the evidence for a characteristic "obese-type" gut microbiota and to discuss studies linking microbial metabolic activities with mammalian regulation of lipid and glucose metabolism, thermogenesis, satiety, and chronic systemic inflammation. We focus in particular on short-chain fatty acids (SCFA) produced upon fiber fermentation in the colon. Although SCFA are reported to be elevated in the feces of obese individuals, they are also, in contradiction, identified as key metabolic regulators of the physiological checks and controls mammals rely upon to regulate energy metabolism. Most studies suggest that the gut microbiota differs in composition between lean and obese individuals and that diet, especially the high-fat low-fiber Western-style diet, dramatically impacts on the gut microbiota. There is currently no consensus as to whether the gut microbiota plays a causative role in obesity or is modulated in response to the obese state itself or the diet in obesity. Further studies, especially on the regulatory role of SCFA in human energy homeostasis, are needed to clarify the physiological consequences of an "obese-style" microbiota and any putative dietary modulation of associated disease risk.