Abstract. Supernatants of faecal suspensions from patients with Crohn's disease (CD) showed much lower viscosity than those from healthy subjects. Material responsible for the viscosity could be precipitated with ethanol. Gel filtration indicated that the viscosity was not due to the glycoprotein fraction but to a fraction with higher molecular weight and relatively high contents of muramic acid suggesting a bacterial origin. The concentration and viscosity of this fraction are less in faeces from patients with CD than in that of healthy subjects.
Neomycin and polymyxin B, used during selective decontamination of the gastrointestinal tract, were studied for their effect on the human faecal flora in vitro. The selective effect was found to be associated with a relative insusceptibility of the obligate anaerobic flora as compared with the facultatively anaerobic Gram-negative rods (Escherichia coli). Both neomycin and polymyxin B were bound by human faeces, in contrast to ampicillin. The results may explain the selective effect of neomycin and polymyxin B on the human flora in vivo.
Supernatants of faecal suspensions from patients with Crohn's disease (CD) showed much lower viscosity than those from healthy subjects. Material responsible for the viscosity could be precipitated with ethanol. Gel filtration indicated that the viscosity was not due to the glycoprotein fraction but to a fraction with higher molecular weight and relatively high contents of muramic acid suggesting a bacterial origin. The concentration and viscosity of this fraction are less in faeces from patients with CD than in that of healthy subjects.
35 bacterial strains isolated from the human faecal flora were screened for hydrolysis of the glucuronides of 3,3′,5‐triiodothyronine and 3,3′‐diiodothyronine. Two Gram‐positive obligately anaerobic strains possessed glucuronidase activity. These strains probably belong to the genus Eubacterium, but ethanol was produced in high concentrations during glucose fermentation, which makes final classification difficult. Considering the number of bacteria in the intestinal flora (> 108/ml) and the biliary excretion of iodothyronine conjugates, the strains must be able to hydrolyse a major part of the total daily intestinal supply of these iodothyronine metabolites. The study extends previous observations with faecal suspensions of human and rat origin [24]. The relevance of bacterial β‐glucuronidase activity for a possible enterohepatic circulation of iodothyronines is discussed.
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