Macfarlane, George T. PhD; Macfarlane, Sandra PhD
Microbiology and Gut Biology Group, Ninewells Hospital Medical School, University of Dundee, Dundee, UK
The authors declare that they have nothing to disclose.
Key phrases: Diet plays an important role in determining bacterial community structure and regulating metabolic processes in the large intestinal ecosystem; carbohydrate metabolism is the principal driving force maintaining the integrity of the colonic microbiota; prebiotics have been shown to selectively modify the composition and metabolic activities of bacterial communities in the large gut; fermentation and SCFA production are beneficial processes in the large gut, and are responsible for any of the phenomena associated with prebiotic consumption.
Reprints: Sandra Macfarlane, PhD, Microbiology and Gut Biology Group, Ninewells Hospital Medical School, The University of Dundee, Dundee DD1 9SY, United Kingdom (e-mail: [email protected]).