scholarly journals Psychobiotics: are we on the cusp of a breakthrough?

BioTechniques ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abigail Sawyer
Keyword(s):  
Human Gut ◽  
Senior Editor

BioTechniques’ Senior Editor, Abigail Sawyer, explores current research on the human gut–brain axis and whether scientists are on the cusp of a breakthrough treatment for depression.

In vitro study of the interaction between human gut microbiota and herbal extracts using willow bark extract as an example

Planta Medica ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 81 (S 01) ◽  
pp. S1-S381
Author(s):  
EM Pferschy-Wenzig ◽  
K Koskinen ◽  
C Moissl-Eichinger ◽  
R Bauer
Keyword(s):  
Gut Microbiota ◽  
In Vitro Study ◽  
Vitro Study ◽  
Bark Extract ◽  
Herbal Extracts ◽  
Human Gut ◽  
Human Gut Microbiota ◽  
Willow Bark

Metabolization of the herbal combination STW-5 by human gut microbiota in vitro

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
EM Pferschy-Wenzig ◽  
A Roßmann ◽  
K Koskinen ◽  
H Abdel-Aziz ◽  
C Moissl-Eichinger ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Gut Microbiota ◽  
Human Gut ◽  
Human Gut Microbiota

From the Senior Editor

2016 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 133
Author(s):  
Bethany J. Walker
Keyword(s):  
Senior Editor

Genomic insights from Monoglobus pectinilyticus: a pectin-degrading specialist bacterium in the human colon

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
CC Kim ◽  
GR Healey ◽  
WJ Kelly ◽  
ML Patchett ◽  
Z Jordens ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cell Surface ◽  
Degradation Products ◽  
Model Organism ◽  
Human Colon ◽  
Surface Proteins ◽  
Human Gut ◽  
Pectate Lyases ◽  
Unusual Distribution ◽  
Degrading Bacteria ◽  
Acetyl Esterases

© 2019, International Society for Microbial Ecology. Pectin is abundant in modern day diets, as it comprises the middle lamellae and one-third of the dry carbohydrate weight of fruit and vegetable cell walls. Currently there is no specialized model organism for studying pectin fermentation in the human colon, as our collective understanding is informed by versatile glycan-degrading bacteria rather than by specialist pectin degraders. Here we show that the genome of Monoglobus pectinilyticus possesses a highly specialized glycobiome for pectin degradation, unique amongst Firmicutes known to be in the human gut. Its genome encodes a simple set of metabolic pathways relevant to pectin sugar utilization, and its predicted glycobiome comprises an unusual distribution of carbohydrate-active enzymes (CAZymes) with numerous extracellular methyl/acetyl esterases and pectate lyases. We predict the M. pectinilyticus degradative process is facilitated by cell-surface S-layer homology (SLH) domain-containing proteins, which proteomics analysis shows are differentially expressed in response to pectin. Some of these abundant cell surface proteins of M. pectinilyticus share unique modular organizations rarely observed in human gut bacteria, featuring pectin-specific CAZyme domains and the cell wall-anchoring SLH motifs. We observed M. pectinilyticus degrades various pectins, RG-I, and galactan to produce polysaccharide degradation products (PDPs) which are presumably shared with other inhabitants of the human gut microbiome (HGM). This strain occupies a new ecological niche for a primary degrader specialized in foraging a habitually consumed plant glycan, thereby enriching our understanding of the diverse community profile of the HGM.

Substrate use prioritization by a coculture of five species of gut bacteria fed mixtures of arabinoxylan, xyloglucan, β-glucan, and pectin

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Y Liu ◽  
AL Heath ◽  
B Galland ◽  
N Rehrer ◽  
L Drummond ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Gut Microbiota ◽  
Dietary Fiber ◽  
Plant Cell Wall ◽  
Bacterial Species ◽  
Short Chain ◽  
Emergent Properties ◽  
Human Gut ◽  
Fermentation Products ◽  
Plant Polysaccharides ◽  
Human Gut Microbiota

© 2020 American Society for Microbiology. Dietary fiber provides growth substrates for bacterial species that belong to the colonic microbiota of humans. The microbiota degrades and ferments substrates, producing characteristic short-chain fatty acid profiles. Dietary fiber contains plant cell wall-associated polysaccharides (hemicelluloses and pectins) that are chemically diverse in composition and structure. Thus, depending on plant sources, dietary fiber daily presents the microbiota with mixtures of plant polysaccharides of various types and complexity. We studied the extent and preferential order in which mixtures of plant polysaccharides (arabinoxylan, xyloglucan, β-glucan, and pectin) were utilized by a coculture of five bacterial species (Bacteroides ovatus, Bifidobacterium longum subspecies longum, Megasphaera elsdenii, Ruminococcus gnavus, and Veillonella parvula). These species are members of the human gut microbiota and have the biochemical capacity, collectively, to degrade and ferment the polysaccharides and produce short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs). B. ovatus utilized glycans in the order β-glucan, pectin, xyloglucan, and arabinoxylan, whereas B. longum subsp. longum utilization was in the order arabinoxylan, arabinan, pectin, and β-glucan. Propionate, as a proportion of total SCFAs, was augmented when polysaccharide mixtures contained galactan, resulting in greater succinate production by B. ovatus and conversion of succinate to propionate by V. parvula. Overall, we derived a synthetic ecological community that carries out SCFA production by the common pathways used by bacterial species for this purpose. Systems like this might be used to predict changes to the emergent properties of the gut ecosystem when diet is altered, with the aim of beneficially affecting human physiology. This study addresses the question as to how bacterial species, characteristic of the human gut microbiota, collectively utilize mixtures of plant polysaccharides such as are found in dietary fiber. Five bacterial species with the capacity to degrade polymers and/or produce acidic fermentation products detectable in human feces were used in the experiments. The bacteria showed preferential use of certain polysaccharides over others for growth, and this influenced their fermentation output qualitatively. These kinds of studies are essential in developing concepts of how the gut microbial community shares habitat resources, directly and indirectly, when presented with mixtures of polysaccharides that are found in human diets. The concepts are required in planning dietary interventions that might correct imbalances in the functioning of the human microbiota so as to support measures to reduce metabolic conditions such as obesity.

K. Mahadevan with P.J. Reeldy and D.A. Naidu (eds.). Fertility and Mortality: Theory, Methodology and Empirical Issues. New Delhi: Sage Publications. 1986. 351 pp.

1987 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
pp. 124-129
Author(s):  
Karol J. Krothi
Keyword(s):  
New Delhi ◽  
Body Of Knowledge ◽  
Senior Editor

This is an ambitious title for a book of 350 pages, but the senior editor has no qualms and promises confidently that the "book will be a worthwhile addition to the existing body of knowledge in the field of population sciences" (p.9). The book is an outcome of a seminar held at the Tirupati University, India, in January 1984. Not all the papers presented at the seminar have been included and some new ones have been added. Since the programme of the seminar is not appended to the book, it is not clear which are which.

Enteric Toxins from Bacteria Colonizing Human Gut

2000 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Gianfranco Donelli ◽  
Loredana Falzano ◽  
Alessia Fabbri ◽  
Carla Fiorentini ◽  
Paola Mastrantonio
Keyword(s):  
Human Gut
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