• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.35 no.2
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• pp.128-132
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• 1999

The effects of diet on the composition of fecal microflora in mouse and the aclivilies of several enzymes in the leces were investigated. Vegetarian dietary groups were found to contain about ten lines higher numbers of Locmbocillus and B$&bacterizml than animal dietary groups. An~rnal dietmy groups were found to contain about 5 tolo times higher numbers of anaerobic Closhidia and Bocieriocles than the vegeterian detary groups. Fccal microbial $\beta$-glucosidase, $\beta$-glucm'onidase, ii-yptophanase and orease activilies in ihe animal dietary groups were shown lo be 30 to 50% hgher than those in h e vegetarian detary groups.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.29 no.8
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• pp.1255-1265
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• 2019

To investigate the diversity of gastrointestinal microflora and lignocellulose-degrading enzymes in wild Asian elephants, three of these animals living in the same group were selected for study from the Wild Elephant Valley in the Xishuangbanna Nature Reserve of Yunnan Province, China. Fresh fecal samples from the three wild Asian elephants were analyzed by metagenomic sequencing to study the diversity of their gastrointestinal microbes and cellulolytic enzymes. There were a high abundance of Firmicutes and a higher abundance of hemicellulose-degrading hydrolases than cellulose-degrading hydrolases in the wild Asian elephants. Furthermore, there were a high abundance and a rich diversity of carbohydrate active enzymes (CAZymes) obtained from the gene set annotation of the three samples, with the majority of them showing low identity with the CAZy database entry. About half of the CAZymes had no species source at the phylum or genus level. These indicated that the wild Asian elephants might possess greater ability to digest hemicellulose than cellulose to provide energy, and moreover, the gastrointestinal tracts of these pachyderms might be a potential source of novel efficient lignocellulose-degrading enzymes. Therefore, the exploitation and utilization of these enzyme resources could help us to alleviate the current energy crisis and ensure food security.

• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.34 no.2
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• pp.77-83
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• 2001

To clarify functionality of depolymerized alginate obtained by hydrolysis of alginate through a heating process at $121^{\circ}C$ on gastrointestinal physiology, the effects of a depolymerized alginate on fecal microflora and the intestinal environment were studied in rats. Rats were fed with diets containing 1, 5 and $10\%$ of each depolymerized alginate (HAG-10, HAG-50 and HAG-100) and alginate for 35 days, Among 20 species of authentic intestinal bacteria, Bacteroides ovatus showed the abilities to ferment HAG-10 HAG-50, HAG-100 and alginate, The 1, 5 and $10\%$ of HAG-50 and $1\%$ of alginate diets resulted in the increased ratio of Bifidobacterium and Lactobacillus to total bacteria, while the 5 and $10\%$ alginate diets decreased in feces of rats, significantly (p<0.01). These results suggested that $5\%$ HAG-50 diets contribute to an improvement of intestinal microflora in rats.

• Food Science and Biotechnology
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• v.15 no.6
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• pp.931-936
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• 2006

This study sought to investigate any additive or interactive effects that soy isoflavones may have on the ecosystem of the gut, which is influenced by fructooligosaccharide (FOS) in colon-cancer model rats. Male Sprague-Dawley rats treated with 1,2-dimethylhydrazine were given experimental diets containing 0, 3, 6, or 9% FOS with or without 0.1% soy isoflavone for 12 weeks. In addition to the effects of FOS dosage on the gut ecosystem, dietary supplementation with soy isoflavone reduced the number of colonic aberrant crypts (ACs). The fecal weight, fecal pH, and gut transit time significantly decreased in a dose-dependent manner in rats fed FOS and the fecal concentration of bifidobacteria was higher in rats fed FOS than in control rats. The fecal output of total short-chain fatty acids, acetate, and propionate was significantly increased by the presence of FOS and was negatively correlated with the number of ACs, whereas the fecal output of butyrate showed no significant correlation with FOS dosage. The addition of soy isoflavone to the diet did not result in any significant differences in gut ecosystem parameters. Therefore, we conclude that the suppressive effect of soy isoflavone on ACs was not associated with the intestinal ecosystem, which was significantly altered by the dosage of FOS.

• Archives of Pharmacal Research
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• v.24 no.6
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• pp.564-567
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• 2001

The fecal ${\beta}-glucuronidase$ activity of patients with colon cancer and healthy controls were measured to determine the relationship between the fluctuation of intestinal bacterial ${\beta}-glucuronidase$ and colon cancer. The fecal ${\beta}-glucuronidase$ activity of patients with colon cancer was 1.7 times higher than that of the healthy controls. However, when these fecal specimens were sonicated, the enzyme activity of patients with colon cancer was 12.1 times higher than that of the healthy controls. The fecal ${\beta}-glucuronidase$ activity of human Intestinal bacteria was drastically induced by its substrate or the bile secreted after a subcutaneous injection of 1,2-dimethylhydrazine (DMH) and benzo[a]pyrene into rats. DMH-and benzo[a]pyrene-treated biles induced ${\beta}-glucuronidase$ activity in the human intestinal microflora by approximately 1.5- and 2.3-fold, respectively. They also induced ${\beta}-glucuronidase$ in E. coli HGU-3, which is a ${\beta}-glucuronidase$-producing bacterium from the human intestine. D-saccharic acid 1,4-lactone similarly inhibited fecal ${\beta}-glucuronidase$ in several patients with colon cancer in addition to the healthy controls. This suggests that potent ${\beta}-glucuronidase$ activity is a prime factor in the etiology of colon cancer.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.21 no.7
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• pp.277-284
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• 2020

This study was undertaken to determine the effects of dietary supplementation with herbal extracts of Portulaca oleracea L. (POL), on the reproductive performance, blood profiles, immune response, and fecal microbial population in multiparous sows. On the basis of initial body weight, a total of 20 multiparous sows (Landrace×Yorkshire; 229.2±1.15 kg) were randomly allotted to 2 treatment groups, each including 10 replicates. The dietary treatments were administered during the lactation period, and included a corn-soybean meal-based diet (control group) and diet supplemented with 0.05% POL. Throughout the experimental period, no significant differences were observed between the two diet groups for body weight, backfat thickness, and reproductive performance. Blood profile analysis revealed significantly decreased lymphocyte concentrations and IL-1β levels (p<0.05), and increased serum IgG levels (p=0.051), of sows consuming the POL supplemented diet. Furthermore, coliform counts tended to decrease in sows consuming diet supplemented with POL (p=0.063). Taken together, our results indicate that POL supplemented diets exert beneficial effects on blood profiles, immune response, and fecal microflora of multiparous sows, without any negative effect on the reproductive performance.

• Journal of Animal Science and Technology
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• v.51 no.6
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• pp.503-510
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• 2009

This study investigated the effects of tannic acid (TA) in the diets for weanling pigs prepared with/without supplemental Fe on performance, hematology, fecal microflora and diarrhea incidence. Limestone and calcium phosphate used in Experiment 1 and 2 were of semi-synthetic and feed-grade quality, respectively; while the trace-mineral premix used in both the experiments was prepared without any added Fe source. In Experiment 1, 108 weaned pigs (Landrace ${\times}$ Yorkshire ${\times}$ Duroc, initially 6.46 ${\pm}$ 1.04 kg BW) were allotted to 3 treatments including control (diet added with $FeSO_4$ and antibiotic), T1 (diet devoid of $FeSO_4$ and antibiotic) and T2 (T1 diet added with 125 mg/kg TA). Each treatment had 4 replicates with 9 pigs in each pen. Feeding of T1 diet had a negative effect on the performance and plasma Fe status of pigs, while addition of TA to T1 diet resulted in performance of pigs comparable to pigs fed the control diet, reduced diarrhea incidence but had a negative influence on the hematological and plasma Fe indices. Additionally, pigs fed T2 diet had fewer (p<0.05) total anaerobic bacteria, Clostridium spp. and coliforms than pigs fed T1 diet, and greater number of Bifidobacterium spp. and Lactobacillus spp. in feces when compared with pigs fed control and T1 diets. In Experiment 2, 144 weaned pigs (Landrace ${\times}$ Yorkshire ${\times}$ Duroc, initially 6.00 ${\pm}$ 1.07 kg BW) were allotted to 4 dietary treatments including control (diet added with $FeSO_4$ and antibiotic) and diets devoid of supplemental Fe added with antibiotic (An), TA and both (AnTA). Each treatment had 4 replicates with 9 pigs in each pen. Addition of An, TA or both to diets devoid of supplemental Fe did not have any effect on performance, blood hematology and plasma Fe but resulted in reduced (p<0.05) diarrhea incidence and lower (p<0.05) fecal coliform population than pigs fed the control diet. These results suggest that TA has a negative influence on blood hematology and plasma Fe status when diets are inadequate in Fe; however, TA reduced diarrhea incidence and might have antimicrobial activity.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.18 no.6
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• pp.1109-1114
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• 2008

To understand the role of intestinal microflora in the biological effect of functional herbs, which have been used in Korea, Japan, and China as traditional medicines, and suggest new bioactive compounds transformed from herbal constituents, the metabolic activities of the functional herb components (ginsenoside Rb1, crocin, amygdalin, geniposide, puerarin, ginsenoside Re, poncirin, hesperidin, glycyrrhizin, and baicalin) toward their bioactive compounds (compound K, crocetin, benzaldehyde, genipin, daidzein, ginsenoside Rh1, ponciretin, hesperetin, 18b-glycyrrhetic acid, and baicalein) were measured in fecal specimens. The metabolic activities of these components were $882.7{\pm}814.5$, $3,938.1{\pm}2,700.8$, $2,375.5{\pm}913.7$, $1,179.4{\pm}795.7$, $24.6{\pm}10.5$, $11.4{\pm}10.8$, $578.8{\pm}206.1$, $1,150.0{\pm}266.1$, $47.3{\pm}58.6$, and $12,253.0{\pm}6,527.6\;{\mu}mol/h/g$, respectively. No differences were found in the metabolic activities of the tested components between males and females, although these metabolic activities between individuals are extensively different. The metabolites of functional herb components showed more potent cytotoxicity against tumor cells than nonmetabolites. These findings suggest that intestinal microflora may activate the pharmacological effect of herbal food and medicines and must be the biocatalytic converter for the transformation of herbal components to bioactive compounds.

• Korean Journal of Poultry Science
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• v.34 no.2
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• pp.137-141
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• 2007

This experiment was conducted to investigate the effects of dietary yeast (Saccharomyces exguus) supplementation on growth performance, cecal microflora and fecal ammonia gas in broiler chicks. A total of two hundred seventy, 1-d-old male broiler chicks (Ross strain) were randomly allotted to nine pens (replicates), 30 birds per pen. There were three dietary treatments with three replicates. The treatments were control (virginiamycin 0.05%+salinomycin 0.03%), Saccharomyces exguus 0.5 and 1.0%. Total body weight gain were significantly higher in Saccharomyces exguus1 1.0% treatment than the control (P<0.05). Although not significant, the yeast supplementation tended to improve the feed conversion ratio. No significant differences were observed on the numbers of cecal E. coli, Salmonella and Lactobacillus in yeast treatments compared to those of control. The production of fecal ammonia gas was significantly lower in yeast treatments than the control (P<0.05). The concentrations of fecal short chain fatty acids and volatile organic compounds were not different among the groups. These results suggest the possibility that yeast (Saccharomyces exguus) could be used as the alternative of antibiotic growth promoters by improving the performance of broiler chicks. In addition, dietary yeast could improve the environment of broiler houses by reducing fecal ammonia production.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.29 no.7
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• pp.998-1003
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• 2016

Although exogenous protease enzymes have been used in poultry diets quite extensively, this has not been the case for pig diets. In general, due to their better gut fermentative capacity and longer transit time, pigs have greater capacity to digest dietary proteins than poultry. However, in early-weaned piglets, the stress brought about by weaning adversely affects the digestion of dietary proteins. Therefore, a study was conducted to determine the effects of a commercial protease enzyme in weanling pigs. Indices of growth, nutrient digestibility, blood profiles, fecal microflora, fecal gas emission and fecal scores were measured during the study. A total of 50 weanling pigs ($6.42{\pm}0.12kg$) at 28 d of age were randomly assigned to receive 1 of 2 dietary treatments: i) control diet (corn-soy based) with no supplemental protease (CON), and ii) control diet+200 g/ton protease (PROT) for 42 d. A completely randomized design consisting of 2 treatments, 5 replicates, and 5 pigs in each replicate was used. Growth performance in terms of body weight ($27.04{\pm}0.38kg$ vs $25.75{\pm}0.39kg$; p<0.05) and average daily gain ($491{\pm}7.40g$ vs $460{\pm}7.46g$; p<0.05) in PROT fed pigs were increased significantly, but gain per feed ($0.700{\pm}0.01$ vs $0.678{\pm}0.01$; p>0.05) was similar between treatments at d 42. Relative to CON pigs, PROT fed pigs had increased (p<0.05) apparent total tract digestibility ($84.66%{\pm}0.65%$ vs $81.21%{\pm}1.13%$ dry matter and $84.02%{\pm}0.52%$ vs $80.47%{\pm}1.22%$ nitrogen) and decreased (p<0.05) $NH_3$ emission ($2.0{\pm}0.16ppm$ vs $1.2{\pm}0.12ppm$) in the feces at d 42. Except for a decreased (p<0.05) in blood creatinine level, no differences were observed in red blood cell, white blood cell, lymphocyte, urea nitrogen, and IgG concentrations between treatments. Fecal score and fecal microflora (Lactobacillus and E. coli) were also similar between CON and PROT groups. Overall, the supplementation of protease enzyme in weanling pigs resulted in improved growth rate and nutrient digestibility. Exogenous protease enzyme reduced fecal $NH_3$ emission, thus, potentially serving as a tool in lowering noxious gas contribution of livestock production in the environment.