A BENEO-Orafti Newsletter - Spring 2008 - Nr. 18:
Prebiotics and healthy ageing

Interview

The science of microbiology is changing. In the past, limitations in methods have meant that we could only identify those bacteria that we could culture. This limited the scientific understanding of the diversity of micro-organisms living in the human gut and their impact on health. Now, technical developments such as metagenomics, have made possible new opportunities to identify many more species and to evaluate how changing their equilibrium might bring about health benefits. Metagenomics is the study of bacterial genetic material recovered directly from environmental samples. It enables the identification of organisms that are not easily cultured in a laboratory. Methodological advances are vital if we are to understand why dietary components, such as prebiotics like inulin and oligofructose, have a beneficial effect on the body. Until recently, research into prebiotics attributed the resulting health effects to increases in bifidobacteria and lactobacilli. While it is undisputed that inulin and oligofructose have a positive role in health, e.g. bone formation, protection against infection, symptomatic relief of inflammatory bowel disease, more research using new methodologies might lead to a further understanding of the mechanisms underpinning these effects.

How do you see the role of our gut microflora in maintaining health?

We should be using the term microbiota rather than microflora, as the equilibrium between different species is what underpins their significant impact on health. In answer to your question, we cannot live without our gut microbiota. They protect us from disease by stimulating our immune system and helping us to repel pathogens. But they also have many other undefined roles. It is interesting that germ-free animals kept in a sterile environment have a low fertility rate and a weak immune function. Something in their physiology has been adversely affected by their lack of gut microbiota.

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