Gastrointestinal Microflora in Mammalian Nutrition

作者：Dwayne C. Savage · 发表于：Annual Review of Nutrition · 年份：1986 · DOI：10.1146/annurev.nu.06.070186.001103 · 被引用次数：192 · 研究领域：Gut microbiota and health、Probiotics and Fermented Foods、Ruminant Nutrition and Digestive Physiology

A mammal is a complex organism consisting of eukaryotic animal cells and eukaryotic and prokaryotic microbial cells. Most of the microorganisms reside in communities in the gastrointestinal tract. These gastrointestinal microfloras are known to serve nutritional functions in ruminants, pseudoruminants, and monogastric mammals with only modest or no foregut fermentations but with extensive hindgut fermentations in blind cecal pouches. In adult animals, the microflora hydrolyzes exogenous (dietary) and endogenous polymers, and provides the adult with all or at least a significant proportion of its carbon, energy, vitamins, and macromolecular building blocks. The flora also functions as a conservator of nitrogen that would otherwise be excreted as urea. In exchange, the flora competes directly with the host tissues for nutrients ingested in the diet, and also competes indirectly by somewhat repressing the absorptive capacities of the animal tissues. When the synergism is in balance, the animal tissues and the microflora operate in harmony for the health and nutritional welfare of the host as a whole. The system may be unbalanced by antibacterial drugs that destroy the microflora and by diseases of the animal tissues that destroy the controls regulating where indigenous communities localize in the tract, their microbial composition, and their biochemical activities. At such times, the nutrition of the animal tissues can be adversely affected to the extreme. Humans living in devel...