Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
Pivot Concepts:   Target Concepts:
Query: EC:3.2.1.31 (beta-glucuronidase)
 7,680 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Constipation is an ailment encountered often in elderly people. A study was initiated to test the effects of lactose or inulin on the bowel habits of constipated elderly patients and to correlate these effects with several variables measured in feces such as microflora composition, concentration of lactate and short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs), pH, and the activities of beta-glucosidase and beta-glucuronidase, Groups of 15 and 10 patients received lactose and inulin, respectively, for a period of 19 d. The dose, 20 g/d from days 1 to 8, was gradually increased to 40 g/d from days 9 to 11 and was kept at this dose from days 12 to 19. There was considerable interindividual variations with this kind of dietary intervention. Inulin increased bifidobacteria significantly from 7.9 to 9.2 log10/g dry feces, but decreased enterococci in number and enterobacteria in frequency. In individuals consuming lactose, a noticeable increase in fecal counts of enterococci and a decrease in lactobacilli and clostridia was detected. Total bacterial counts remained unchanged. No changes in the concentrations of fecal SCFAs and lactate were observed. SCFAs showed a slight trend toward higher molar ratios of acetate to butyrate in response to the intake of lactose or inulin. The fecal pH and the beta-glucosidase and beta-glucuronidase activities were not influenced by sugar intake. Inulin showed a better laxative effect than lactose and reduced functional constipation with only mild discomfort.
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PMID:Effects of inulin and lactose on fecal microflora, microbial activity, and bowel habit in elderly constipated persons. 912 68

The present experiments were aimed at developing novel dietary fibers to aid in reduction of colon cancer risk. We assessed the effects of coffee (non-fiber fraction), coffee fiber (arabino-galactose polymer) and inulin (oligo-fructose) in male F344 rats using formation of azoxymethane (AOM)-induced aberrant crypt foci (ACF) in the colon as the measure of preventive efficacy (or lack of such). At 5 weeks of age, groups of rats were fed the AIN-76A (control) and experimental diets that contained 1% coffee, 10% coffee fiber, 10% inulin, 10% pectin (positive control for fiber) or 200 p.p.m. piroxicam (a known ACF inhibitor). At 7 weeks of age, all animals were s.c injected with AOM (15 mg/kg body wt) once weekly for 2 weeks. All rats were killed 8 weeks after the last AOM injection and ACF were counted. The contents of the cecum were analyzed for bacterial beta-glucuronidase activity and short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs). Dietary administration of coffee fiber significantly suppressed AOM-induction of colonic ACF, in terms of total number, as well as crypt multiplicity and number of ACF/cm2 colon (P < 0.01-0.001). Inulin diet had no significant effect on total ACF, but had reduced the number of ACF/cm2 (P < 0.05). Whereas coffee had no effect on ACF formation, 10% pectin diet and 200 p.p.m. piroxicam significantly suppressed colonic ACF (P < 0.001) as had been expected. A significant reduction of cecal beta-glucuronidase activity was observed in the rats fed coffee, coffee fiber and pectin diets. Further, coffee fiber, inulin and pectin increased cecal SCFA levels 3- to 5-fold. These results suggest that coffee fiber can prevent colon cancer risk. Further studies are warranted to determine the full potential of this fiber in pre-clinical efficacy studies.
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PMID:Prevention of colonic aberrant crypt foci and modulation of large bowel microbial activity by dietary coffee fiber, inulin and pectin. 980 64

Supplementation of the human diet with prebiotic substances such as inulin and non-digestible oligosaccharides (NDO), e.g., galacto-oligosaccharides (GOS), has been associated with various health benefits. However, little information is available regarding the spatial location of their metabolism in human gut bacterial ecosystems. Therefore, the present study investigated the metabolism of inulin and GOS with respect to bacterial growth, bifidobacterial stimulatory properties and anti-mutagenicity potential, in a three-stage continuous culture model of the colon which reproduces the physicochemical characteristics of the proximal (V1) and distal (V2, V3) colons. Fermentation of both carbohydrates was rapid, and occurred primarily in V1, as evidenced by acid formation. Inulin metabolism was associated with 10-fold stimulation of lactobacillus populations, together with smaller increases in bifidobacterial cell counts in V1. However, peptostreptococci, enterococci and Clostridium perfringens also increased in this fermentation vessel. In contrast, GOS was only weakly bifidogenic in V1, although these bacteria did proliferate in V2. GOS also increased lactobacilli by an order of magnitude in V1. However, overall changes in microbial populations resulting from inulin or GOS addition were minimal in V2 and V3. Potential beneficial effects of inulin metabolism included minor reductions in beta-glucosidase and beta-glucuronidase, whereas GOS strongly suppressed these enzymes, together with arylsulphatase (AS). Growth of putatively health promoting micro-organisms was not only associated with reductions in enzymes linked to genotoxicity. For example, both carbohydrates stimulated synthesis of nitroreductase and azoreductase, throughout the fermentation system, while inulin increased AS. Colonic transit time is an important factor in bacterial metabolism in the large bowel, and these data suggest that, in some circumstances, NDO fermentation will occurprincipally in the proximal colon.
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PMID:Modulation of genotoxic enzyme activities by non-digestible oligosaccharide metabolism in in-vitro human gut bacterial ecosystems. 1154 86

We investigated the effect of Brussels sprouts, inulin and a fermented milk on the faecal microbiota diversity of human microbiota-associated (HMA) rats by PCR-temporal temperature gradient gel electrophoresis (PCR-TTGE) using universal and group-specific 16S rRNA gene primers. The HMA rats were submitted to a control diet for 10 d (initial time), then switched to the experimental diets for 4 weeks (final time). Using universal primers, the mean degree of similarity between all faecal samples at initial time was 80.8 %. In the group consuming the control diet throughout the experiment, the mean degree of similarity between the PCR-TTGE profiles at initial v. final time was 76.8 %, reflecting a spontaneous temporal variation. The mean degree of similarity between control and experimental groups at final time was lower, 72.4 %, 74.4 % and 75.6 % for inulin, Brussels sprouts and fermented milk, respectively, indicating a dietary effect on the predominant populations. Using specific primers, bifidobacteria could be detected only in those rats that had consumed inulin, showing a specific increasing effect of this dietary compound. The Lactobacillus population was very heterogeneous at initial time but tended to homogenize within each dietary group. At final time, caecal contents were collected for analysis of SCFA and beta-glucuronidase activity. Inulin and Brussels sprouts increased the butyrate and acetate proportion, respectively, while the fermented milk did not modify the caecal biochemistry. This experiment shows for the first time that cruciferous vegetables are able to alter the diversity and the metabolic activities of the digestive microbiota in HMA rats.
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PMID:Brussels sprouts, inulin and fermented milk alter the faecal microbiota of human microbiota-associated rats as shown by PCR-temporal temperature gradient gel electrophoresis using universal, Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium 16S rRNA gene primers. 1597 67