A Prebiotic for Intestinal Health（PPT 18页）.ppt

A Prebiotic for Intestinal Health Presentation Overview Maintaining a proper balance of intestinal microflora (colonies of bacteria) helps preserve the integrity of the gastrointestinal tract Xylo-oligosaccharide (XOS) plays an important role in restoring the ecological balance of intestinal flora Functions of Normal Flora Digestion Production of vitamins Mucosal maturation Support/Stimulate Immune System Attachment to intestinal wall lining Intestinal transit Amount of time it takes for food to move through the intestine and to be passed as stool Harmful bacterial colonization resistance Balanced Microflora Molecular studies indicate that the intestinal microflora consists of 1014 microbes from more than 1000 species Little is known about the role played by many of the dominant bacteria in the gut that are believed to be benign such as Bacteroides, Eubacterium spp., Ruminococcus spp., Butyrovibrio spp. Bifidobacteria and lactobacilli are two species with known positive contributions to human health As the microbiota protect against incoming pathogenic microbes and modulate immune response, a balanced microflora increases well-being of the gastrointestinal tract Rationale for Prebiotics When the ratio of good bacteria to bad is lowered, problems begin to arise Excessive gas, bloating, constipation, intestinal toxicity and poor absorption of nutrients may be experienced Prebiotics can contribute to human digestive health by specifically stimulating growth of bifidobacteria and lactobacilli—two microbial species accepted to exhibit beneficial effects Definition of a Prebiotic Prebiotics are non-digestible food ingredients that beneficially affect the host by selectively stimulating the growth and/or activity of one or a limited number of bacteria in the colon (Gibson and Roberfroid, 1995) There are 3 criteria to be classified as a prebiotic: Resistance to gastric acidity, hydrolysis by digestive enzymes and gastrointestinal absorption Fermentation by int