The physiology of colonic metabolism. Possibilities for interventions with pre- and probiotics.

The awareness is increasing that in the colon many metabolic processes take place in relation to the fermentation of our food, which might be relevant for health and disease. However, the relation between food, colon metabolism and health or disease is far from clear. In this overview, the physiology of colonic metabolism and possibilities for its modification by the use of pre- and probiotics are discussed. Results of in vitro and animal studies indicate a beneficial impact of probiotics on adverse metabolic processes in the colon, but confirmation in human studies has to be extended. The administration of prebiotics seems to be promising with regard to their capacity to modulate the bacterial composition in the colon and there are indications that prebiotics can beneficially influence colonic metabolism. Whether these modulations brought about by pre- or probiotics have an effect on the health of the host, however, needs to be established in most cases.