• Journal of Animal Science and Technology
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• v.66 no.5
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• pp.876-890
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• 2024

A balanced intestinal microbiome controls intestinal bacterial diseases, helps regulate immunity, and digests and utilizes nutrients, ultimately having a positive effect on the productivity of industrial animals. Yeasts help in the digestion process by breaking down indigestible fibers and producing organic acids, vitamins, and minerals. In particular, polysaccharides such as beta-glucan and mannan-oligosaccharides, which are present in the cell wall of yeast, inhibit the adhesion of pathogens to the surface of the gastrointestinal tract and increase resistance to disease to help maintain and improve intestinal health. Among the yeast additives used in animal feed, Saccharomyces cerevisiae is one of the most commonly used probiotics. However, it does not naturally reside in the intestine, so if it is supplied in combination with other species of probiotics that can compensate for it, many benefits and synergies can be expected for pigs in terms of maintaining intestinal health such as supplementing the immune system and improving digestion. A number of previous studies have demonstrated that dietary complex probiotic supplementation has growth-promoting effects in pigs, suggesting that multiple strains of probiotics may be more effective than single strain probiotics due to their additive and synergistic effects. In practice, however, the effects of complex probiotics are not always consistent, and can be influenced by a variety of factors. Therefore, this review comprehensively examines and discusses the literature related to the effects of complex probiotics using Saccharomyces cerevisiae in pig production.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.21 no.4
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• pp.603-615
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• 2008

Dietary fiber is an inevitable component in pig diets. In non-ruminants, it may influence many physiological processes in the gastrointestinal tract (GIT) such as transit time as well as nutrient digestion and absorption. Moreover, dietary fiber is also the main substrate of intestinal bacteria. The bacterial community structure is largely susceptible to changes in the fiber content of a pig's diet. Indeed, bacterial composition in the lower GIT will adapt to the supply of high levels of dietary fiber by increased growth of bacteria with cellulolytic, pectinolytic and hemicellulolytic activities such as Ruminococcus spp., Bacteroides spp. and Clostridium spp. Furthermore, there is growing evidence for growth promotion of beneficial bacteria, such as lactobacilli and bifidobacteria, by certain types of dietary fiber in the small intestine of pigs. Studies in rats have shown that both phosphorus (P) and calcium (Ca) play an important role in the fermentative activity and growth of the intestinal microbiota. This can be attributed to the significance of P for the bacterial cell metabolism and to the buffering functions of Ca-phosphate in intestinal digesta. Moreover, under P deficient conditions, ruminal NDF degradation as well as VFA and bacterial ATP production are reduced. Similar studies in pigs are scarce but there is some evidence that dietary fiber may influence the ileal and fecal P digestibility as well as P disappearance in the large intestine, probably due to microbial P requirement for fermentation. On the other hand, fermentation of dietary fiber may improve the availability of minerals such as P and Ca which can be subsequently absorbed and/or utilized by the microbiota of the pig's large intestine.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.129-138
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• 1999

If rumen bacteria can be manipulated to utilize nutrients (i.e., ammonia and plant cell wall carbohydrates) more completely and efficiently, the need for protein supplementation can be reduced or eliminated and the digestion of fiber in forage or agricultural residue-based diets could be enhanced. However, these approaches require a complete and accurate description of the rumen community, as well as methods for the rapid and accurate detection of microbial density, diversity, phylogeny, and gene expression. Molecular ecology techniques based on small subunit (SSU) rRNA sequences, nucleic acid probes and the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) can potentially provide a complete description of the microbial ecology of the rumen of ruminant animals. The development of these molecular tools will result in greater insights into community structure and activity of gut microbial ecosystems in relation to functional interactions between different bacteria, spatial and temporal relationships between different microorganisms and between microorganisms and reed panicles. Molecular approaches based on SSU rRNA serve to evaluate the presence of specific sequences in the community and provide a link between knowledge obtained from pure cultures and the microbial populations they represent in the rumen. The successful development and application of these methods promises to provide opportunities to link distribution and identity of gastrointestinal microbes in their natural environment with their genetic potential and in situ activities. The use of approaches for assessing pupulation dynamics as well as for assessing community functionality will result in an increased understanding and a complete description of the gastrointestinal communities of production animals fed under different dietary regimes, and lead to new strategies for improving animal growth.

• Journal of Pharmacopuncture
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.43-49
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• 2013

Objective: Pyungwi-san (PWS) plays a role in a number of physiologic and pharmacologic functions in many organs. Interstitial cells of Cajal (ICCs) are pacemaker cells that generate slow waves in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract. We aimed to investigate the beneficial effects of PWS in mouse small-intestinal ICCs. Methods: Enzymatic digestion was used to dissociate ICCs from the small intestine of a mouse. The whole-cell patch-clamp configuration was used to record membrane potentials from the cultured ICCs. Results: ICCs generated pacemaker potentials in the GI tract. PWS produced membrane depolarization in the current clamp mode. Pretreatment with a $Ca^{2+}$-free solution and a thapsigargin, a $Ca^{2+}$-ATPase, inhibitor in the endoplasmic reticulum, eliminated the generation of pacemaker potentials. However, only when the thapsigargin was applied in a bath solution, the membrane depolarization was not produced by PWS. Furthermore, the membrane depolarizations due to PWS were inhibited not by U-73122, an active phospholipase C inhibitor, but by chelerythrine and calphostin C, protein kinase C inhibitors. Conclusions: These results suggest that PWS might affect GI motility by modulating the pacemaker activity in the ICCs.

• Preventive Nutrition and Food Science
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.58-63
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• 2007

Bifidobacteria are probiotic organisms that provide both flavor and health benefits when incorporated as live cultures into commercial dairy products. Because bifidobacteria are very sensitive to environmental conditions (acids, temperature, oxygen, bile salts, the presence of other cultures, etc.), their viability in human gastrointestinal tract is limited. The microencapsulation of bifidobacteria is a process to protect them against harsh environmental conditions, thereby increasing their viability while passing through human gastrointestinal tract. To confirm the survival rate of microencapsulated Bifidobacterium breve CBG-C2 in milk, their survival rate was compared with several kinds of free bifidobacteria and lactic acid bacteria in commercial yogurt products under simulated gastric and small intestinal conditions. Double-microencapsulation of the bacteria was employed to increase the survival rate during digestion. The outer layer was covered with starch and gelatin to endure gastric conditions, and the inner layer was composed of a hard oil for the upper small intestinal regions. Almost all microencapsulted bifidobacteria in the milk survived longer than the free bifidobacteria and lactic acid bacteria in the commericial yogurt products under the simulated gastric conditions. Numbers of surviving free bifidobacteria and lactic acid bacteria in the commercial products were significantly reduced, however, the viability of the microencapsulated bificobacteria in the milk remained quite stable under gastric and small intestine conditions over 3$\sim$6 hrs. Thus double-microencapsualtion of bifidobacteria in milk is a promising method for improving the survival of bifidobacteria during the digestive process.

• Integrative Medicine Research
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• v.6 no.2
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• pp.149-155
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• 2017

Background: Naringenin (NRG) is a common dietary polyphenolic constituent of fruits. NRG has diverse pharmacological activities, and is used in traditional medicine to treat various diseases including gastrointestinal (GI) disorders. Interstitial cells of Cajal (ICCs) are pacemaker cells of the GI tract. In this study, the authors investigated the effects of NRG on ICCs and on GI motility in vitro and in vivo. Methods: ICCs were dissociated from mouse small intestines by enzymatic digestion. The whole-cell patch clamp configuration was used to record pacemaker potentials in cultured ICC clusters. The effects of NRG on GI motility were investigated by calculating percent intestinal transit rates (ITR) using Evans blue in normal mice. Results: NRG inhibited ICC pacemaker potentials in a dose-dependent manner. In the presence of tetraethylammonium chloride or iberiotoxin, NRG had no effect on pacemaker potentials, but it continued to block pacemaker potentials in the presence of glibenclamide. Preincubation with SQ-22536 had no effect on pacemaker potentials or on their inhibition by NRG. However, 1H-[1,2,4]oxadiazolo[4,3-a]quinoxalin-1-one blocked pacemaker potential inhibition by NRG. In addition, L-NG-nitroarginine methyl ester blocked pacemaker potential inhibition by NRG. Furthermore, NRG significantly suppressed murine ITR enhancement by neostigmine in vivo. Conclusion: This study shows NRG dose-dependently inhibits ICC pacemaker potentials via a cyclic guanosine monophosphate/nitric oxide-dependent pathway and $Ca^{2+}$-activated $K^+$ channels in vitro. In addition, NRG suppressed neostigmine enhancement of ITR in vivo.

• Journal of Dairy Science and Biotechnology
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• v.26 no.1
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• pp.11-19
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• 2008

Milk from dairy cows has long provided a high quality source of protein and selected micronutrients as calcuim to most populations. Recently, a relationship between disease risk and consumption of specific bovine ${\beta}$-casein fraction either A1 or A2 genetic variants has identified. Populations, which consume milk contain high containing high levels of ${\beta}$-casein A2 variants, have a lower incidence of cardiovascular disease and type 1 diabetes. Furthermore, consumption of milk with the A2 variants may be associated with less severe symptoms of autism and schizophrenia. The mechanism of action focuses on ${\beta}$-casein A1 and related forms preferentially that are able to produce a bioactive opioid peptide, ${\beta}$-casomorphin-7(${\beta}$-CM-7) during digestion. Infants may absorb ${\beta}$-CM-7 due to an immature gastrointestinal tract. Adult, on the other hand, appear to reap the biological activity locally on the intestinal brush boarder. ${\beta}$-CM-7 can potentially affect numerous opioid receptors in the nervous, endocrine, and immune system. Whether there is a definite health benefit to milk containing the A2 genetic variant is unknown and requires further investigation.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Pharmacy
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.49-56
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• 2011

The family of bile acids belongs to a group of molecular species of acidic steroids with very peculiar biological characteristics. They are synthesized by the liver from cholesterol through several complementary pathways and secreted into small intestine for the participation in the digestion and absorption of fat. The bile acids are mostly confined to the territories of the so-called enterohepatic circulation, which includes the liver, the biliary tree, the intestine and the portal blood with which bile acids are returned to the liver. In patients with bile acid malabsorption, the amount of primary bile acids in the colon is increased compared to healthy controls. Although the increase in the secondary bile acids including deoxycholic acid, is reported to have the potency to affect tumorigenesis in gastrointestinal tracts, there is no firm evidence that clinically relevant concentrations of the bile acids induce cancer. The list of their physiological roles, as well as that of the pathological processes is long and still not complete. There is no doubt that many new concepts, pharmaceutical tools and pharmacological uses of bile acids and their derivatives will emerge in the near future.

• Journal of Dairy Science and Biotechnology
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• v.28 no.1
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• pp.17-28
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• 2010

A substantial body of evidence has emerged over the last decade in support of the novel concept that dietary calcium and dairy foods play an important role in regulating energy metabolism and thereby promote healthy weight management and reduce obesity risk. This concept has been demonstrated in experimental animals studies, cross-sectional and prospective population studies and a number of randomized clinical trials. Notably, the effects of dairy foods in weight management are more consistent than the effects of supplemental calcium across clinical trials, and calcium per se is responsible for approximately 40-50% of the effects of dairy. The calcium component is only effective in individuals with chronically low calcium intake, as it serves to prevent the endocrine response to low calcium diets which otherwise favors adipocyte energy storage; calcium also serves to promote energy loss via formation of calcium soaps in the gastrointestinal tract and thereby reduce fat absorption. The calcium-independent anti-obesity bioactivity of dairy resides primarily in whey. The key components identified to date are leucine and bioactive peptides resulting from whey protein digestion. The high concentration of leucine in whey stimulates a repartitioning of dietary energy from adipose tissue to skeletal muscle where it provides the energy required for leucine-stimulated protein synthesis, resulting in increased loss of adipose tissue and preservation of skeletal muscle mass during weight loss. Finally, dairy rich diets suppress the oxidative and inflammatory responses to obesity and thereby attenuate the diabetes and cardiovascular disease risk associated with obesity.

• The Korean Journal of Food And Nutrition
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• v.31 no.3
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• pp.319-327
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• 2018

This paper defines the common features of synbiotics based on the definition of probiotics and prebiotics, and reviews the effectiveness of synbiotic food. The concept of synbiotics is defined as 'a mixture of prebiotics and probiotics that have a beneficial effect on the host, as a dietary supplement that alters living organisms in the gastrointestinal tract and improves their survival.' Synbiotic food contains ingredients with beneficial microbes that are expected to improve interactions between microbial and useful substances. Synbiotic foods may have anti-cancer and immune system-boosting effects. Improved digestion, healthier bowel movements, and overall increased intestinal health has been reported were reported after increasing the healthy microorganisms within the intestinal tract. In addition, depending on the type of food containing the symbiotic ingredients, more consistent weight control, improvement of cardiovascular health, and lower blood glucose levels may also be expected. Unlike previous studies, this review of synbiotics has shown that it is necessary for synergistic effects to take place among microorganisms and components to be further studied. Further research is needed on the safety and ingestion of microorganisms contained in synbiotics.