Gut flora, nutrition, immunity and health / edited by Roy Fuller & Gabriela Perdigón.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

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.

This title reviews the interactions between bacteria in the human intestinal tract, and the effects on nutrition and the immune system. The editors, who are well known for their work in this subject, have drawn together an list of known international contributors. Covering major aspects of the subject including probiotics and functional foods, the immune system in health and disease, oral tolerance, food and allergic disease and carcinogenesis, each chapter carefully reviews the latest research and important facts in each area. The book should prove a useful point of reference for all nutritionists, food microbiologists and immunologists.

Print version record.