BACKGROUND AND AIM Increasing evidence has indicated a close association of host-gut flora metabolic interaction with obesity. Flos Lonicera, a traditional herbal medicine, is used widely in eastern Asia for the treatment of various disorders. The aim of this study was to evaluate whether unfermented or fermented formulations of Flos Lonicera could exert a beneficial impact to combat obesity an...

BACKGROUND Berberine (BBR) is a traditional antimicrobial herbal medicine. Recently, BBR has gained popularity as a supplement to lower blood lipids, cholesterol and glucose. Bile acids (BAs) are known to regulate blood levels of triglycerides, cholesterol, glucose and energy homeostasis, and gut flora play an important role in BA metabolism. However, whether BBR alters BAs metabolism or dose-r...

Increasingly, the microbiological scientific community is relying on molecular biology to define the complexity of the gut flora and to distinguish one organism from the next. This is particularly pertinent in the field of probiotics, and probiotic therapy, where identifying probiotics from the commensal flora is often warranted. Current techniques, including genetic fingerprinting, gene sequen...

BACKGROUND Lactobacillus species are the most often found inhabitants of vaginal ecosystem of fertile women. In postmenopausal women with low oestrogen levels, Lactobacillus flora is diminishing or absent. However, no studies have been performed to investigate the correlation between oestrogen levels and the lactobacilli in the gut. The aim of the present study was to investigate the relation i...

In humans, microbial colonisation of the intestine begins just after birth. However, development of the normal flora is a gradual process, which is initially determined by factors such as genetic aspects, the maternal-foetal interaction, place and mode of delivery, early feedings strategies, and the use of antibiotics. Current knowledge on the significance and impact of the gut microflora on th...

In previous studies, we showed that peptidoglycan polysaccharides from anaerobic bacteria normally present in the human gut induced severe chronic joint inflammation in rats. Our hypothesis is that peptidoglycan from the gut flora is involved in perpetuation of idiopathic inflammation. However, in the literature, the presence of peptidoglycan or subunits like muramyl peptides in blood or tissue...

Background. Emerging evidences have shown a close interplay between obesity, diabetes, and intestinal flora disturbance. Dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitor, exemplified by sitagliptin, is highly efficacious in treating type 2 diabetes (T2DM), yet little is known if sitagliptin exerts beneficial effects on microbiota associated with obesity and T2DM. We evaluated changes of gut microbiota followin...

BACKGROUND Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic inflammatory disease that affects about 1% of the adult population and occurs twice as frequently among women than men. At present it is accepted that pathogenesis of RA is based on inflammatory response mediated by CD4(+) Th1 and Th17 lymphocytes. The most commonly applied model imitating RA is the collagen induced arthritis (CIA). A growing ev...

The bacterial flora of marine animals collected at depths of 570 to 2,446 m was examined for population size and generic composition, and the barotolerant characteristics of selected bacterial isolates were determined. Total numbers of culturable, aerobic, heterotrophic bacteria were found to be low in animals collected at the greatest ocean depths sampled in this study. Vibrio spp. were predom...

This review focuses on the use and potential of Lactobacillus to prevent infections of the urogenital and intestinal tracts. The presence and dominance of Lactobacillus in the vagina is associated with a reduced risk of bacterial vaginosis and urinary tract infections. The mechanisms appear to involve anti-adhesion factors, by-products such as hydrogen peroxide and bacteriocins lethal to pathog...