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The present review is focused on the prebiotic impact of inulin on the management of the gastrointestinal disorder. Prebiotics can be described as "non-digestible food ingredient stimulating the growth of a certain number of bacteria in the colon, which can improve the host health". In 2004 this definition was modernized to include other areas that may benefit from selective targeting of particular microorganisms: "selectively fermented ingredients that alter the configuration and activity in the gastrointestinal microbiota that confer positive effect". The positive impact of prebiotics in experimental colitis and human inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) has already been established. Prebiotics shows a positive effect in the prevention of IBD by modulating the trophic functions of the flora. Inulin enhances the growth of indigenous lactobacilli and/or bifidobacteria by inducing colonic production of short chain fatty acids (SCFA's) and these properties are related to decreased mucosal lesion scores and diminished mucosal inflammation. Inulin shows a positive approach to retain microbial populations and to support epithelial barrier function by their prebiotic effect which helps in the host defense against invasion and pathogens translocation (endogenous and/or exogenous) and in the inhibition of gastrointestinal diseases and this impact should be verified in further clinical studies. In the present review, we discussed the positive effect of prebiotics in rat IBD models and in human subjects along with their potential protective mechanisms. Preclinical and clinical data revealed that the gut mucosal barrier would be improved by the use of prebiotics in IBD.

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In the past, taurine was not considered essential in poultry diet; however, heavy reliance on plants derived feed ingredients and environmental stresses have compelled its application inevitable. Six hundred day old male broilers (Hubbard) were supplementation with taurine at the level of 0 (TAN0), 2.5 (TAN2.5), 5 (TAN5) and 7.5 g/kg (TAN7.5) in drinking water during heat stressed conditions for a period of 35 days. On overall basis, feed intake was not significantly (p>.05) different between the treatments. At the end of the experiment, weight gain was significantly (p<.05) higher in the treatment groups. On the overall basis, FCR was significantly (p<.01) lower in the treatment groups. Abdominal fat weight was significantly (p<.01) lower in TAN5 and TAN7.5 compared to the control group. On the slaughter age (35 days) muscle fibre diameter (MFD), muscle fibre cross sectional area (MFCSA), muscle fascicle diameter (MFASD) and muscle fascicle cross-sectional area were significantly (p<.05) higher in TAN7.5 compared to the control. The results indicated that growth performance was enhanced in taurine supplemented birds irrespective of the inclusion levels during the heat stress. Abdominal fat was significantly decreased in TAN5 and TAN7.5 levels; however, muscle histological features were significantly higher in all treatment groups.

The delivery of a drug to the preferred site of action is referred to as drug targeting. The benefits of drug targeting are a reproducible and controlled release rate of the therapeutic compound, which forestalls overdose. Due to the potential to treat colonic diseases with minimum side effects, colon targeting has become of high interest over the last decades. Inulin was investigated for its potential as encapsulation material regarding its enzymatic degradability and its drug release behaviour. Inulin is a polysaccharide with a widespread range of therapeutic uses such as a carrier in a drug delivery vehicle, as a diagnostic/analytical tool or as a dietary fibre with additional health benefits. In the main, much research has focused on inulin as a drug delivery carrier for colon-specific drug delivery. The justification for this is its potential to survive in the stomach’s acidic environment. This unique stability and strength are utilized in many ways to deliver drugs safely to the colon, where they can be easily absorbed through the gut epithelium into the blood. There are also some proofs that inulin’s prebiotic features also lead to health benefits, mainly for patients with inflammatory bowel disease or in the prevention of colonic cancer. Inulin based hydrodynamic research will be useful to discover the potential of inulin.

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