PreGI - Prebiotics for Prevention of Gut Infections

There is increasing evidence that (i) intestinal beneficial bacteria are selectively stimulated by ingestion of specific (prebiotic) carbohydrates, and that (ii) beneficial bacteria ingested as probiotics are capable of suppression of bacterial pathogens in the gut.

The idea of this project is to utilize existing animal models to identify dietary (prebiotic) carbohydrates that inhibit infection with selected pathogenic bacterial challengers.

Carbohydrates with the best potential for pathogen inhibition will then be further studied with respect to effects on beneficial gut bacteria, production of short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs), and immune modulation in the host animals.

Visualization of pathogenic challengers as well as of prebiotic-stimulated beneficial species in the intestinal environment will reveal whether an observed inhibition of a given pathogen results e.g. from competition for adhesion sites. The results obtained will be analyzed in a multivariate approach, in order to determine which of the above-mentioned factors have important impact on the anti-pathogen effect of prebiotics.