Microbial Food Supplements
The Intestinal Microflora
After birth the intestinal tract of the baby is free of any kind of organism, but it rapidly acquires microorganisms from its mother breast milk and the environment. For a new born baby the major source of microorganisms would be the mother some practices where mother not feeding their child restrict the passing of some organism to infant's intestinal flora like the increase in bottle-feeding has also had a deleterious effect on the development of the microbial population in the intestines (the so-called gut microflora). In spite of attempts to simulate the composition of breast milk, formula milkfed babies have significant differences in the composition of their gut microflora. After weaning on to solid foods, the gut microflora changes and, by about one year, the composition resembles that of the adult. The composition of the adult gut microflora is fairly stable but can be affected by such factors as diet, medication, environmental stress (temperature and humidity) and emotional stress.
The flora which eventually develops is a very complex collection of hundreds of different types of bacteria which may be affecting each other and influencing the host. There is a delicate balance which exists in the normal healthy individual where the ‘good’ bacteria suppress the potentially ‘bad’ bacteria. This results in a symbiotic association between the flora and the host. This exchange has been evolved to work under natural conditions to the benefit of the host but modern lifestyles, especially in developed countries, have compromised the association and, in some circumstances, have left the host vulnerable
Below are some hints that shows the microflora is really working or not:
1. If animals are reared in the complete absence of microbes they are more
susceptible to diseases such as cholera, dysentery and salmonellosis.
2. Antibiotics given orally often induce diarrhea. The antibiotic is killing off the protective
microbes and allowing the dangerous pathogens to multiply.
3. The diarrhea conditions induced by antibiotic feeding can be treated, by dosing with an enema prepared from a suspension of feces from a healthy adult.
Probiotics & Fermented foods are such kind of supplements that can provides a beneficial microflora to the intestinal tract.
Probiotics
Probiotics may well prove to be to the 21st Century what antibiotics were to the 20th Century. Health care providers are literally “running scared” due to the increase in antibiotic resistant strains of bacteria. For example, by 1998 antibiotic resistant Staph aureus (the largest killer of patients in hospital) appeared. It is resistant to Vancomycin.
The term “probiotic” covers microbial food supplements whose primary aim is to improve the health and well being of the consumer. It comprises not only products specifically designed to produce health benefits, but also traditional yogurts and bioyogurts which contain special bacteria of intestinal origin. A more formal definition widely used is: “A live microbial food supplement which beneficially affects the host animal by improving its intestinal microbial balance”. (Fuller, 1989). Lactobacilli is one of the such good example.
Fermented foods
The process of fermentation converts carbohydrates to organic acids or alcohols and carbon dioxide. Scientific research has validated that consumption of fermented foods aids digestion, supports immune function and boosts overall nutrition. Fermented foods supply needed B vitamins and anti-inflammatory omega-3 fatty acids to the body. The live lacto-bacteria assists in protecting the body from harmful microorganisms, viruses, bad bacteria, yeast, and parasites that thrive in an unhealthy gut environment and begin the onset of disease.
Many food ingredients are made by large scale fermentation of microbes. These include flavourings, thickeners, stabilisers and enzymes. Some of these are shown in the table:
The health benefits associated with the consumption of fermented foods include:
After birth the intestinal tract of the baby is free of any kind of organism, but it rapidly acquires microorganisms from its mother breast milk and the environment. For a new born baby the major source of microorganisms would be the mother some practices where mother not feeding their child restrict the passing of some organism to infant's intestinal flora like the increase in bottle-feeding has also had a deleterious effect on the development of the microbial population in the intestines (the so-called gut microflora). In spite of attempts to simulate the composition of breast milk, formula milkfed babies have significant differences in the composition of their gut microflora. After weaning on to solid foods, the gut microflora changes and, by about one year, the composition resembles that of the adult. The composition of the adult gut microflora is fairly stable but can be affected by such factors as diet, medication, environmental stress (temperature and humidity) and emotional stress.
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| Infants tongue color changes slightly white after being fed with mother's milk, showing the growth of microflora. |
Below are some hints that shows the microflora is really working or not:
1. If animals are reared in the complete absence of microbes they are more
susceptible to diseases such as cholera, dysentery and salmonellosis.
2. Antibiotics given orally often induce diarrhea. The antibiotic is killing off the protective
microbes and allowing the dangerous pathogens to multiply.
3. The diarrhea conditions induced by antibiotic feeding can be treated, by dosing with an enema prepared from a suspension of feces from a healthy adult.
Probiotics & Fermented foods are such kind of supplements that can provides a beneficial microflora to the intestinal tract.
Probiotics
The term “probiotic” covers microbial food supplements whose primary aim is to improve the health and well being of the consumer. It comprises not only products specifically designed to produce health benefits, but also traditional yogurts and bioyogurts which contain special bacteria of intestinal origin. A more formal definition widely used is: “A live microbial food supplement which beneficially affects the host animal by improving its intestinal microbial balance”. (Fuller, 1989). Lactobacilli is one of the such good example.
Fermented foods
Many food ingredients are made by large scale fermentation of microbes. These include flavourings, thickeners, stabilisers and enzymes. Some of these are shown in the table:
PRODUCT | MICROBE |
Glutamic acid Lysine & methionine | Corynebacterium glutamicum Brevibacterium flavum |
Citric acid | Aspergillus |
a-amylase b-amylase Cellulase Invertase Lactase Oxidases Lipase Pectinase Proteases Rennin (chymosin) | Aspergillus spp. Bacillus subtilis Trichoderma viride Saccharomyces cerevisiae Saccharomyces fragilis Aspergillus Aspergillus Aspergillus Aspergillus oryzae Mucor, E. coli |
Vitamin B12 Riboflavin Vitamin C | Pseudomonas spp Ashbya gossypii Acetobacter spp. |
The health benefits associated with the consumption of fermented foods include:
- They restore proper balance of good bacteria in the gut and can be effective in aiding recovery from numerous conditions linked with levels of good bacteria including: lactose intolerance, asthma, allergies, yeast infections, constipation, and irritable bowel syndrome.
- Eating fermented foods increases the number of antibodies that fight infectious diseases, thus boosting the immune system.
- They are rich in enzymes which assist the body in digesting food and properly absorbing the nutrition from the foods we consume.
- Fermenting food increases the vitamin content and promotes creation of additional nutrients such as omega-3 fatty acids.
- The higher concentration of antioxidants allow some fermented foods remove free radicals in the body.
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