The interleukin-10-deficient (IL10(-/-)) mouse develops colon inflammation in response to normal intestinal microflora and has been used as a model of Crohn's disease. Short-Column LCMS metabolite profiling of urine from IL10(-/-) and wild-type (WT) mice was used, in two independent experiments, to identify mass spectral ions differing in intensity between these two genotypes. Three differentia...

The gut microflora is an important constituent in the intestinal mucosal barrier and has been introduced as the concept of probiotic therapy that beneficially affects the host by improving its intestinal microbial balance. Therefore, the main objective of the study was to explore the protective potential of various lactobacilli strains for murine giardiasis. By experimentation, it was found tha...

Toll-like receptors (TLRs) play a crucial role in host defense against microbial infection. The microbial ligands recognized by TLRs are not unique to pathogens, however, and are produced by both pathogenic and commensal microorganisms. It is thought that an inflammatory response to commensal bacteria is avoided due to sequestration of microflora by surface epithelia. Here, we show that commens...

We have suggested that intestinal microflora reduces the activity of the antioxidant enzyme superoxide dismutase (SOD) in the mouse cecal mucosa. In this study, gnotobiotic mice were used to examine the species of intestinal microflora influencing SOD activity in the cecal mucosa. The total SOD activity in the cecal mucosa of each germ-free (GF), gnotobiotic mouse with Escherichia coli, Lactoba...

Lactobacillus and bifidobacterial cultures are increasingly used as probiotics in pharmaceuticals and in foods. The selection of strains is performed often for technological rather than for microecological reasons. Detailed reports about species and strains composition of these microorganisms in the intestinal microflora of man are rare. Our investigations were performed with samples originatin...

Icariin is a major bioactive compound of Epimedii Herba, a traditional oriental medicine exhibiting anti-cancer, anti-inflammatory and anti-osteoporosis activities. Recently, the estrogenic activities of icariin drew significant attention, but the published scientific data seemed not to be so consistent. To provide fundamental information for the study of the icaritin metabolism, the biotransfo...

In breast-fed newborn infants, a stable microflora having more than 90% Bifidobacterium is usually developed in the colon and the feces within 5 days after birth. As a result, pH value lowers and putrefactive bacteria decrease in the feces. In bottle feeding with the milk containing a certain quantity of lactulose, it is observed that pH value, the population of Bifidobacterium, and lysozyme ac...

Intestinal microfloras from human, rat, mouse, and monkey fecal samples and 14 pure cultures of anaerobic bacteria representative of those found in the human gastrointestinal tract metabolized the triphenylmethane dye malachite green to leucomalachite green. The reduction of malachite green to the leuco derivative suggests that intestinal microflora could play an important role in the metabolic...

The results of studies on gnotobiotic and conventional animals indicate that intestinal bacteria interfere with absorption of nutrients. The microflora could exert this undesirable activity by a direct action on the gut wall or the gut function, as well as by transformation of a variety of exogenous and endogenous substances into unabsorbable or potentially toxic compounds. This short review pr...

One of the main tasks of the immune system is to discriminate and appropriately react to "danger" or "non-danger" signals. This is crucial in the gastrointestinal tract, where the immune system is confronted with a myriad of food antigens and symbiotic microflora that are in constant contact with the mucosa, in addition to any potential pathogens. This large number of antigens and commensal mic...