Influencing health through intestinal microbiota modulation and probiotics

Science has progressed fast in providing answers to probiotic health benefits to the consumers. This symposium also proves that progress is fast. However, several challenges still need to be solved and more effective strains and strain combinations discovered. This will pave the way from good probiotics to specific products for clearly identified target populations. The intestinal microbiota and its interaction(s) with probiotics challenges researchers to turn to the next new page to discover new approaches and treatment modalities that utilize probiotics as means of providing good nutrition with clear health benefits to all consumers.<br /

Novel Probiotics and Prebiotics: How Can They Help in Human Gut Microbiota Dysbiosis?

Background and Objectives: Novel probiotics and prebiotics designed to modulate the gut microbiota for improving health outcomes are in demand as the importance of the gut microbiota in human health is revealed. A review of the scientific literature regarding the current knowledge and novel species and novel oligosaccharides for the treatment of dysbiosis-associated diseases has been carried out due to their growing interest. Results and Conclusions: The regulations governing introduction of novel probiotics and prebiotics vary by geographical region. Novel foods and foods with health claims fall under specific regulations in several countries. In European Union (EU), safety is assessed by novel food approval process and by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) established Quantitative Presumption of Safety (QPS) system for bacteria and other biologicals. Any messages on health benefits are covered by the European Regulation on Health Claims (ERHC), also assessed by EFSA. Examples of recent novel probiotics in EU include Clostridium butyricum, and Bacteroides xylanisolvens and examples of novel prebiotics include human milk oligosaccharides such as Lacto-N-neotetraose. Yacon root is an example on a previously novel prebiotic food which is allowed due to the reported existing cultivation and use in EU prior to the novel food regulation. Potential future candidates include further human milk oligosaccharides and bacteria such Faecalibacterium prausnitzii and Akkermasia muciniphila. Increasing knowledge on human intestinal microbiota and microbiota development enables the design of new more specific and hitherto unknown probiotics and prebiotics. Also understanding the microbe and microbe host interactions facilitates the search for novel probiotics and prebiotics

Researching a miniature electric motor as an aid for studying electromagnetism in high school : Educational reconstruction

Opinnäytteessä pohditaan, voisiko lukion sähkömagnetismin opetuksen yhteyteen kytkeä pienoissähkömoottorin kokeellista tutkimista. Ajatuksena on, että tällainen didaktinen rekonstruktio auttaisi sähkömagnetismin aihepiirin tavoitteiden saavuttamisessa. Pienoissähkömoottori poikkeaa fysiikan opiskeluun käytetyistä koe-, havainnollistamis- ja muista apuvälineistä siten, että se on reaalimaailmassa yleinen olemassa oleva sähkömagnetismiin perustuva tekninen sovellus. Sen kokeellinen tutkiminen tuo toisenlaisen, eräässä mielessä autenttisen näkökulman sähkömagneettisten ilmiöiden ilmenemiseen ympäristössämme. Tämä näkökulma voisi toimia opiskelijalle vahvistavana elementtinä aihepiirin käsitteiden omaksumisessa. On eri asia tehdä empiiristä tutkimista varta vasten siihen suunnitelluilla koevälineillä, kuin aidolla reaalimaailman teknisellä sovelluksella. Pienoissähkömoottorista saa käsityksen siitä, miten sähkömagnetismia sovelletaan käytännössä. Lukion opetussuunnitelman perusteet 2019 määrittelevät lukion kurssimoduulin 7, Sähkömagnetismi ja valo, keskeiset sisällöt. Sähkömagnetismin osalta keskeiset sisällöt ovat kaikki enemmän tai vähemmän läsnä pienoissähkömoottorin toiminnan periaatteissa. Tämä tarjoaa hyvän lähtökohdan opinnäytteen pohdinnalle. Sähkömagnetismin aihepiiri käydään vaiheittain läpi ja moottorin tutkiminen kytketään jokaiseen vaiheeseen siihen soveltuvalla tavalla. Induktioilmiön suhteen hyödynnetään pienoissähkömoottorin sitä ominaisuutta, että se toimii akselistaan pyörittämällä myös generaattorina. Sähkömagneettinen säteily ja valo aihepiirinä ei sisälly opinnäytteeseen. Oppimisteoreettisena viitekehyksenä opinnäytteessä on hahmottava lähestymistapa. Sähkömagnetismin kurssin sisällöllisen etenemisen runkona käytetään Galilei 7 –oppikirjaa vuodelta 1996. Kirja sopii tehtäväänsä hyvin erityisesti sen vuoksi, että se on konstruoitu hahmottavan lähestymistavan periaatteiden mukaisesti. Kirjan sisältö on pieniä yksityiskohtia lukuunottamatta relevantti iästään huolimatta. Opinnäytteen johtopäätöksissä todetaan, että pienoissähkömoottorin tutkimisen kytkeminen kurssin yhteyteen on realistinen ajatus. Tutkiminen on käytännössä toteutettavissa tavanomaisessa luokkahuoneympäristössä, eikä siihen pääosin tarvita erityisvälineitä. Moottorit ovat edullisia, joten kustannukset eivät ole esteenä. On perusteltua ajatella, että tutkimisen myötä opiskelijat saavat sähkömagnetismin ilmiöihin ja käsitteisiin toisen näkökulman, jolla on oppimista vahvistava rooli. Ongelmiksi tunnistetaan moottorin eräiden ominaisuuksien havainnollistamisen tekninen järjestäminen, sekä mahdollisesti opettajien valmius didaktisen rekonstruktion toteuttamiseen käytännössä

Fermentation of Carrot Juice by Probiotics: Viability and Preservation of Adhesion

Abstract: In the present work, carrot juice was investigated as an alternative carrier for probiotics. Pasteurized juice was fermented anaerobically over night at 37oC with selected probiotics and their viability was assessed after 1, 2, 4, 8 and 12 week storage. Identification was performed by species specific PCR. Mucus adhesion was assessed of carrot juice and laboratory medium grown Lactobacillus strains. At inoculation, the probiotic strains were present at levels of 106-107 CFU/ml and during fermentation the lactobacilli numbers increased to 109-1010 CFU/ml. After four weeks storage, Lactobacillus levels remained almost unchanged and after 12 weeks there were still 107-109 CFU/ml lactobacilli. Bifidobacteria, however, did not grow and started to decline after two weeks and were undetectable after 8 weeks. Adhesion of carrot juice grown lactobacilli was 50-70% less then adhesion of the strains grown in laboratory medium. The results suggest that fermented carrot juice is a promising carrier for probiotic lactobacilli but not bifidobacteria, but may alter the phenotypic properties of lactobacilli.Â

Semantic Infrastructure for Service Environment Supporting Successful Aging

Demographic changes and the rapid increase of aging people are occurring throughout the world. There is a need for step-by-step developing service environment to support elderly living as old as possible at home. Digital equipment and technology solutions installed at home produce real-time data which can be used for predictive and optimized service creation. New technology solutions have to be tested at home environments to get certainty of usability, flexibility, and accessibility. The implementation of new digitalization has to happen according to ethical rules taking into account the values of elderly people. The data gathered through digital equipment is used in optimizing service processes. However, service process misses common ontology and semantic infrastructure to use the gathered data for service optimization. The service environment and semantic infrastructure, which could be used in social and health care, are introduced in this article

Infant formula supplemented with biotics: Current knowledge and future perspectives

Breastfeeding is natural and the optimal basis of infant nutrition and development, with many benefits for maternal health. Human milk is a dynamic fluid fulfilling an infant’s specific nutritional requirements and guiding the growth, developmental, and physiological processes of the infant. Human milk is considered unique in composition, and it is influenced by several factors, such as maternal diet and health, body composition, and geographic region. Human milk stands as a model for infant formula providing nutritional solutions for infants not able to receive enough mother’s milk. Infant formulas aim to mimic the composition and functionality of human milk by providing ingredients reflecting those of the latest human milk insights, such as oligosaccharides, bacteria, and bacterial metabolites. The objective of this narrative review is to discuss the most recent developments in infant formula with a special focus on human milk oligosaccharides and postbiotics.Fil: Salminen, Seppo. University of Turku. Faculty of Medicine; FinlandiaFil: Stahl, Bernd. Nutricia Research; Países Bajos. Utrecht Institute Of Pharmaceutical Sciences; Países BajosFil: Vinderola, Celso Gabriel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Santa Fe. Instituto de Lactología Industrial. Universidad Nacional del Litoral. Facultad de Ingeniería Química. Instituto de Lactología Industrial; ArgentinaFil: Szajewska, Hania. Medical University Of Warsaw; Poloni

Effect of Chitin and Chitooligosaccharide on In vitro Growth of Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG and Escherichia coli TG

Background and Objective: Given the rising tendency of using insects as food, research regarding the food safety issues and health implications of edible insects are necessary. Insects have an external skeleton that is mainly composed of chitin- a nontoxic, fiber-like polysaccharide. Chitin and its derivative compounds can take part in maintaining healthy gut microbiota, by promoting or inhibiting the growth of several gut bacteria depending on the chitinous substrate. Healthy composition of gut microbiota can prevent intestinal disease states and food digestion problems. The aim of the study is to characterize the impact of chitin and chitooligosaccharides on the growth of two gut bacteria Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG and Escherichia coli TG, to provide further understanding on possible outcomes of consuming insects.Materials and Methods: Micro plate wells were prepared with tryptone soy broth in 0.5 and 0.1% wv-1 chitin concentrations and in 0.5, 0.1, and 0.05% wv-1 chitooligosaccharide concentrations. Bacteria were added and the growth parameters of Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG and Escherichia coli TG were obtained by measurement of optical density at 600 nm in 37°C.Results and Conclusion: Chitooligosaccharides enhanced the growth of Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG and inhibited the growth of Escherichia coli TG in the lowest tested concentration of 0.05% wv-1. Chitin completely inhibited the growth of both bacteria in the lowest tested concentration of 0.1% wv-1. Chitooligosaccharides appear promising as potential prebiotic compounds associated with insect food products. Chitin has a strong antibacterial effect on tested bacteria. However, the In vitro results should be verified in well-designed human studies

Assessment of stress tolerance acquisition in the heat-tolerant derivative strains of Bifidobacterium animalis subsp. lactis BB-12 and Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG

[Aims] The purpose of this study was to investigate the heat-shock response at molecular level in Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG, Bifidobacterium animalis subsp. lactis BB-12 and their heat-tolerant derivatives and to characterize the changes that make the derivatives more robust in terms of heat stress.[Methods and results] The study strains were exposed for 2 h to a heat-shock treatment, Bif. animalis subsp. lactis BB-12 and its derivative at 50°C and the Lact. rhamnosus GG and its derivative at 60°C. Protein synthesis before and after heat shock was examined using proteomics and RT-qPCR. The analysis revealed that the regulation of seven proteins in both strain pairs was modified as a response to heat or between the original and the derivative strain. The comparison of wild-type strains and the heat-tolerant derivatives suggests that the acquisition of heat tolerance in the Bif. animalis subsp. lactis BB-12 derivative is due to a slightly increased constitutive level of chaperones, while in Lact. rhamnosus GG derivative, the main reason seems to be a higher ability to induce the production of chaperones.[Conclusions] This study revealed possible markers of heat tolerance in B. lactis and Lact. rhamnosus strains.[Significance and impact of study] This study increases our knowledge on how Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium strains may acquire heat tolerance. These findings may be useful for improving the heat tolerance of existing probiotic strains as well as screening new heat-tolerant strains.This study was funded by TEKES (the Finnish Funding Agency for Technology and Innovation) grant number 398/31/2009.Peer Reviewe

Novel Probiotics and Prebiotics: How Can They Help in Human Gut Microbiota Dysbiosis?

Background and Objectives: Novel probiotics and prebiotics designed to modulate the gut microbiota for improving health outcomes are in demand as the importance of the gut microbiota in human health is revealed. A review of the scientific literature regarding the current knowledge and novel species and novel oligosaccharides for the treatment of dysbiosis-associated diseases has been carried out due to their growing interest. Results and Conclusions: The regulations governing introduction of novel probiotics and prebiotics vary by geographical region. Novel foods and foods with health claims fall under specific regulations in several countries. In European Union (EU), safety is assessed by novel food approval process and by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) established Quantitative Presumption of Safety (QPS) system for bacteria and other biologicals. Any messages on health benefits are covered by the European Regulation on Health Claims (ERHC), also assessed by EFSA. Examples of recent novel probiotics in EU include Clostridium butyricum, and Bacteroides xylanisolvens and examples of novel prebiotics include human milk oligosaccharides such as Lacto-N-neotetraose. Yacon root is an example on a previously novel prebiotic food which is allowed due to the reported existing cultivation and use in EU prior to the novel food regulation. Potential future candidates include further human milk oligosaccharides and bacteria such Faecalibacterium prausnitzii and Akkermasia muciniphila. Increasing knowledge on human intestinal microbiota and microbiota development enables the design of new more specific and hitherto unknown probiotics and prebiotics. Also understanding the microbe and microbe host interactions facilitates the search for novel probiotics and prebiotics.</p