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MUCOSAL BIOLOGY

Effects of Lactobacillus casei Shirota, Bifidobacterium breve, and oligofructose-enriched inulin on colonic nitrogen-protein metabolism in healthy humans

¹Department of Gastrointestinal Research, University Hospital Gasthuisberg, Leuven; ²Laboratory of Microbiology, ³ Belgian Co-Ordinated Collections of Micro-Organisms/Laborataory of Microbiology Ghent Bacteria Collection, Ghent University, Ghent; and ⁴Research Group of Industrial Microbiology, Fermentation Technology and Downstream Processing, Department of Applied Biological Sciences, Vrije Universiteit, Brussels, Belgium

Submitted 1 February 2006 ; accepted in final form 17 September 2006

Pre- and/or probiotics can cause changes in the ecological balance of intestinal microbiota and hence influence microbial metabolic activities. In the present study, the influence of oligofructose-enriched inulin (OF-IN), Lactobacillus casei Shirota, and Bifidobacterium breve Yakult on the colonic fate of NH₃ and p-cresol was investigated. A randomized, placebo-controlled, crossover study was performed in 20 healthy volunteers to evaluate the influence of short- and long-term administration of OF-IN, L. casei Shirota, B. breve Yakult, and the synbiotic L. casei Shirota + OF-IN. The lactose[¹⁵N,¹⁵N]ureide biomarker was used to study the colonic fate of NH₃. Urine and fecal samples were analyzed for ¹⁵N content by combustion-isotope ratio mass spectrometery and for p-cresol content by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. RT-PCR was applied to determine the levels of total bifidobacteria. Both short- and long-term administration of OF-IN resulted in significantly decreased urinary p-cresol and ¹⁵N content. The reduction of urinary ¹⁵N excretion after short-term OF-IN intake was accompanied by a significant increase in the ¹⁵N content of the fecal bacterial fraction. However, this effect was not observed after long-term OF-IN intake. In addition, RT-PCR results indicated a significant increase in total fecal bifidobacteria after long-term OF-IN intake. Long-term L. casei Shirota and B. breve Yakult intake showed a tendency to decrease urinary ¹⁵N excretion, whereas a significant decrease was noted in p-cresol excretion. In conclusion, dietary addition of OF-IN, L. casei Shirota, and B. breve Yakult results in a favorable effect on colonic NH₃ and p-cresol metabolism, which, in the case of OF-IN, was accompanied by an increase in total fecal bifidobacteria.

ammonia; p-cresol; bifidobacteria; biomarker

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