To understand the relationship between the gastrointestinal inhabiting microbial community and broiler health, a literature review is presented. The available information on the development of gut microbial community, the relationship between commensal microflora and digestive function, the role of gut microorganisms on competitive exclusion of chickens against pathogens, and modulation of the ...

The gut immune system is influenced by many factors, including dietary components and commensal bacteria. Nutrients that affect gut immunity and strategies that restore a healthy gut microbial community by affecting the microbial composition are being developed as new therapeutic approaches to treat several inflammatory diseases. Although probiotics (live microorganisms) and prebiotics (food co...

Prebiotics were defined in 1995 as non-digestible food ingredients beneficially affecting the host by stimulating the growth and/or activity of one or more bacteria in the colon, thus improving health. The proliferation of certain bacteria by fermentation of non-digestible carbohydrates has been shown to be able to inhibit the colonization of the intestine by pathogens, thus giving a protective...

Synbiotics are recognized means of modulating gut microbiota composition and activities. However, whether synbiotics are superior to prebiotics and probiotics alone in moderating the gut microbiota towards a purportedly healthy composition has not been determined. Eight selected synbiotics (short-chain fructooligosaccharides or fructooligosaccharides, each combined with one of four probiotics, ...

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the impact of probiotics and prebiotics on the health of children. SOURCES MEDLINE and LILACS were searched for relevant English and French-language articles. SUMMARY OF THE FINDINGS Human milk is rich in prebiotic oligosaccharides and may contain some probiotics. No data suggest that addition of probiotics to infant formula may be harmful, but evidence of its efficacy...

Recent advances in our understanding of the community structure and function of the human microbiome have implications for the potential role of probiotics and prebiotics in promoting human health. A group of experts recently met to review the latest advances in microbiota/microbiome research and discuss the implications for development of probiotics and prebiotics, primarily as they relate to ...

Premature births are increasing worldwide (about 15 millions per year) due to several reasons (an advanced maternal age, fertility treatments, stress, smoking, nutritional deficiencies) and lead to a high societal overall cost. Among neonatal care procedures, the clinical nutrition practices are essential to promote the development and to minimize the sequelae. Premature newborns are at major r...

BACKGROUND 1) To evaluate calcium absorption in infants fed a formula containing prebiotics (PF) and one without prebiotics (CF). 2) To compare calcium absorption from these formulas with a group of human milk-fed (HM) infants. METHODS A dual tracer stable isotope method was used to assess calcium absorption in infants exclusively fed CF (n = 30), PF (n = 25) or HM (n = 19). Analysis of varia...