title: Prebiotics, probiotics, and dietary fiber in gastrointestinal disease.
abstract: Microecology of the gastrointestinal tract is the physiologic basis for the effect of dietary fiber, prebiotics and probiotics on the host. The ecology consists of the gastrointestinal tract, primarily the intestines, the foods that are fed into the tract, and the flora living within. Within this ecology, normal flora and probiotics, ferment dietary fiber and prebiotics to produce short chain fatty acids and substances that are absorbed and effect the host at the intestinal level and systemically. In this review, we will discuss the effects of prebiotics, probiotics and dietary fiber in gastrointestinal disorders and diseases.
authors.affiliation: Digestive Disease Section, Yale University School of Medicine, 333 Cedar Street, 1080 LMP, PO Box 208019, New Haven, CT 06520, USA.
authors.forename: Jacqueline
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Park
authors.forename: Martin H
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Floch
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004043:Dietary Fiber / Q000378:metabolism / Q000382:microbiology / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D005767:Gastrointestinal Diseases / Q000178:diet therapy* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000382:microbiology / Q000473:pathology; D006090:Gram-Negative Bacteria; D006094:Gram-Positive Bacteria; D006801:Humans; D019936:Probiotics / Q000378:metabolism / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D012440:Saccharomyces