Related Experiment Video
Updated: Mar 7, 2026

An In Vitro Batch-culture Model to Estimate the Effects of Interventional Regimens on Human Fecal Microbiota
Published on: July 31, 2019
Dietary fiber and prebiotics and the gastrointestinal microbiota
1a Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition and Division of Nutritional Sciences , University of Illinois , 361 Edward R. Madigan Laboratory, Urbana , IL USA.
Abstract:
The gastrointestinal microbiota has an important role in human health, and there is increasing interest in utilizing dietary approaches to modulate the composition and metabolic function of the microbial communities that colonize the gastrointestinal tract to improve health, and prevent or treat disease. One dietary strategy for modulating the microbiota is consumption of dietary fiber and prebiotics that can be metabolized by microbes in the gastrointestinal tract. Human alimentary enzymes are not able to digest most complex carbohydrates and plant polysaccharides. Instead, these polysaccharides are metabolized by microbes which generate short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs), including acetate, propionate, and butyrate. This article reviews the current knowledge of the impact of fiber and prebiotic consumption on the composition and metabolic function of the human gastrointestinal microbiota, including the effects of physiochemical properties of complex carbohydrates, adequate intake and treatment dosages, and the phenotypic responses related to the composition of the human microbiota.
Related Concept Videos
Bacterial Flora of the Large Intestine
The normal gut flora of the colon plays a critical role in generating essential vitamins such as vitamins K, B5, and B7.
Drugs Affecting GI Tract Motility: Antimicrobials as Antidiarrheal Agents
Anatomy of the Intestines
Small Intestines
The small intestine is an ~7 meter-long tube with an inner diameter of just 2.5 cm. Since most nutrients are absorbed here, the inner lining of the...
Inflammatory Bowel Disease III: Diagnostic Studies and Management I-Nutritional Therapy
Diagnostic studies
A colonoscopy is the definitive screening test, distinguishing ulcerative colitis from other colon diseases with similar symptoms. During a colonoscopy test, inflamed mucosa with exudate ulcerations can be observed, and biopsies are taken to determine the histologic characteristics of the...
Drugs Affecting GI Tract Motility: Adsorbents as Antidiarrheal Agents
Adsorbents...
What is Monogastric Digestion?

