Gut flora, nutrition, immunity and health

Cover -- Preface -- Acknowledgements -- 1 The Intestinal Microflora -- From Petri dish to polyacrylamide gel -- Catalogues show diversity -- A phoenix arises -- Is it all the same in the end? -- The formative years -- Rules and regulations, but mind your language -- 2 Food and the Large Intestine -- The large intestine -- Interactions of the microflora with the host -- Effect of diet on the colonic microflora -- Diet and bacterial species composition in the large intestine -- Diet and bacterial metabolism -- Intestinal bacteria and vitamins -- Bacterial growth substrates in the large intestine -- Breakdown of complex carbohydrates by intestinal bacteria -- Protein breakdown by gut microorganisms -- Toxological implications of amino acid fermentation -- Effects of carbohydrate on amino acid fermentation -- Short-chain fatty acids -- Effect of diet on SCFA production -- In vitro studies on SCFA production -- SCFA and cell metabolism -- SCFA and colon cancer -- Lactate formation by gut microorganisms -- 3 The Health Benefits of Probiotics and Prebiotics -- Summary -- Introduction -- Probiotics -- Composition of probiotic preparations -- Tracking probiotics through the gut -- Prebiotics -- Oligosaccharides as prebiotics -- Current status- -- Persistence of the prebiotic effect to distal regions of the colon -- Anti-adhesive activities against pathogens and toxins -- Targeted prebiotics -- Attentuative properties -- Defined health outcomes of probiotics and prebiotics -- Improved tolerance to lactose -- Protection from gastroenteritis -- Coronary heart disease -- Colon cancer -- Vitamin synthesis -- Irritable bowel syndrome -- Improved digestion and gut function -- Immunomodulation -- Mineral bioavailability -- Conclusions -- 4 Intestinal Microflora and Metabolic Activity -- Dietary carbohydrates -- Bacterial fermentation -- SCFA production -- SCFA and electrolytes absorption -- Colonic metabolism -- Physiological consequences of SCFA absorption -- Probiotics and the intestinal metabolism of carbohydrates -- 5 The Role of the Immune System -- Overview of the immune system -- Introduction -- Innate immune response -- Early induced immune response -- Adaptative immune response -- Education of lymphocytes in the primary lymphoid organs -- Education of T lymphocytes in the thymus -- Education of B lymphocytes in the bone marrow -- The immune system functioning -- Peripheral lymphoid tissues, a place where lymphocytes meet the antigen -- Lymphocyte traffic -- Activation of T cells -- Cell-mediated immune response: generation of armed effector T cells -- Humoral immune response -- Endogenous regulation of the immune response -- Tolerance to T cell repertoire -- Tolerance to B cell repertoire -- Immunoregulation -- 6 Behaviour of the Immune System in Eating Disorders -- Relationship between nutrition and the immune system -- The defence of the organism -- Immune system behaviour under malnutrition -- Effects of micronutrients on the immune system -- The immune system in eating disorders -- Eating disorders