Contents -- Preface -- Acknowledgements -- 1 The Intestinal Microflora -- From Petri dish to polyacrylamide gel -- Catalogues show diversity -- A phoenix arises -- Is it all the same in the end? -- The formative years -- Rules and regulations, but mind your language -- 2 Food and the Large Intestine -- The large intestine -- Interactions of the microflora with the host -- Effect of diet on the colonic microflora -- Diet and bacterial species composition in the large intestine -- Diet and bacterial metabolism -- Intestinal bacteria and vitamins -- Bacterial growth substrates in the large intestine -- Breakdown of complex carbohydrates by intestinal bacteria -- Protein breakdown by gut microorganisms -- Toxological implications of amino acid fermentation -- Effects of carbohydrate on amino acid fermentation -- Short-chain fatty acids -- Effect of diet on SCFA production -- In vitro studies on SCFA production -- SCFA and cell metabolism -- SCFA and colon cancer -- Lactate formation by gut microorganisms -- 3 The Health Benefits of Probiotics and Prebiotics -- Summary -- Introduction -- Probiotics -- Composition of probiotic preparations -- Tracking probiotics through the gut -- Prebiotics -- Oligosaccharides as prebiotics -- Lactulose -- Inulin and fructooligosaccharides -- Galactooligosaccharides -- Soybean oligosaccharides -- Lactosucrose -- Isomaltooligosaccharides -- Glucooligosaccharides -- Xylooligosaccharides -- Current status -- Persistence of the prebiotic effect to distal regions of the colon -- Anti-adhesive activities against pathogens and toxins -- Targeted prebiotics -- Attenuative properties -- Defined health outcomes of probiotics and prebiotics -- Improved tolerance to lactose -- Protection from gastroenteritis -- Coronary heart disease -- Colon cancer -- Vitamin synthesis -- Irritable bowel syndrome.

Improved digestion and gut function -- Immunomodulation -- Mineral bioavailability -- Conclusions -- 4 Intestinal Microflora and Metabolic Activity -- Dietary carbohydrates -- Bacterial fermentation -- SCFA production -- SCFA and electrolytes absorption -- Colonic metabolism -- Physiological consequences of SCFA absorption -- Probiotics and the intestinal metabolism of carbohydrates -- 5 The Role of the Immune System -- Overview of the immune system -- Introduction -- Innate immune response -- Early induced immune response -- Adaptative immune response -- B lymphocytes and the immunoglobulins -- T lymphocytes and the T cell receptor complex -- APCs and the MHC molecules -- Education of lymphocytes in the primary lymphoid organs -- Education of T lymphocytes in the thymus -- Education of B lymphocytes in the bone marrow -- The immune system functioning -- Peripheral lympoid tissues, a place where lymphocytes meet the antigen -- Lymphocyte traffic -- Activation of T cells -- Cell-mediated immune response: generation of armed effector T cells -- Generation of Thl and Th2 cells -- Cytotoxic T cells -- Humoral immune response -- Activation of B cells in the secondary lymphoid organs -- Kinetics of the immune response -- Endogenous regulation of the immune response -- Tolerance to T cell repertoire -- Tolerance to B cell repertoire -- Immunoregulation -- 6 Behaviour of the Immune System in Eating Disorders -- Relationship between nutrition and the immune system -- The defence of the organism -- Immune system behaviour under malnutrition -- Effects of micronutrients on the immune system -- Antioxidant vitamins -- The immune system in eating disorders -- Eating disorders as a clear example of malnutrition -- Cytokine participation over the lack of infection in eating disorders -- The interrelationship between leptin and cytokines -- Conclusions.

7 Mucosal Immune System and Malnutrition -- Mucosal immunity -- Introduction -- Organized mucosal lymphoid tissues -- Antigen uptake -- Role of epithelial, toll-like receptors and dentritic cells -- Tolerance to food -- Effect of nutritional factors on the microenvironment of mucosal immune system -- Nutrition and immunity -- Nutritional effects on immune mechanisms -- Essential amino acid deficiency and immune response -- Nutritional deficiencies and mucosal immune defence systems in animals -- Probiotics in malnutrition -- Introduction -- Protein malnutrition and immune response -- Effects of probiotic addition to a renutrition diet -- 8 Immune Activation Versus Hyporesponsiveness and Tolerance in the Gut -- Introduction -- Innate and adaptative immunity -- Antigen and the T cell response -- Antigen-presenting cells in the GIT -- T cell function in the GIT - the CD4+ population -- γδ T cells -- Turnover of T cells -- Intestinal epithelial cells -- Peyer's patches - suppression of T cell responsiveness -- Probiotic bacteria - a biological role as live or dead organisms -- Immune activation by probiotic bacteria feeding -- Probiosis - is it Gram-positive versus Gram-negative bacteria or is it live versus dead bacteria? -- Summary and perspective -- 9 Food Hypersensitivity and Allergic Diseases -- Introduction -- Immunological mechanisms -- Food allergens -- Clinical manifestations -- Identification of high risk infants for prevention -- Preventive measures -- Breast feeding -- Hydrolysed formulas -- Other measures -- Management of food allergy -- 10 Nutritional and Microbial Modulation of Carcinogenesis -- Introduction -- Bacteria and cancer overview -- Bacterial metabolites -- Enzyme activities -- β-glucuronidase and β-glycosidase -- Enzymic hydrolysis of plant flavonoids -- Nitroreductase and nitrate reductase -- Metabolism of heterocyclic amines.

Metabolism of sulphur-containing compounds -- Secondary bile acids -- Fecapentaenes -- Reduced exposure to toxic compounds -- Formation of toxic and protective agents during fermentation -- Carbohydrate fermentation -- Short chain fatty acids -- Products of colonic protein fermentation -- Probiotics, prebiotics and cancer -- 11 The Role of Nutrition in Immunity of the Aged -- Introduction -- Aging and immune function -- Innate immune system -- Age-related changes in skin and mucous barriers -- Age-related changes in phagocytic cells -- Age-related changes in natural killer cells -- Acquired immune system -- Age-related involution of thymic function -- Quantitative and qualitative changes in T cell subpopulations in the elderly -- Age-related changes in T cell function -- Changes in B cell number and function in the elderly -- Nutritional regulation of immune function of the aged -- Effect of protein-energy malnutrition on immune responses in aged people -- Alterations in polymorphonuclear functions during PEM in the elderly -- Alterations in monocyte/macrophage functions during PEM in the elderly -- Alterations in T-cell mediated immunity during PEM in the elderly -- Alterations in B-cell mediated immunity during PEM -- Immune response during nutritional recovery in undernourished elderly persons -- Influence of nutritional recovery on PMN function in old age -- Influence of nutritional recovery on T cell function in old age -- Influence of nutritional supplementation in healthy well-nourished elderly subjects -- Concluding remarks -- 12 Conclusions -- Index.