Articles - Nutrition

Certain species of the resident bacteria are known to provide benefits to the host. These are the lactic acid producing bacteria (LAB), which include the Lactobacilli, Bifidobacteria, members of the Streptococci, and several other species. The amount and composition of substances reaching the large intestine can be readily modified by diet and, in terms of bacterial substrates, it is the fermentable substrate such as oligosaccharides, starches and non starch polysaccharides (NSP) which are most important.

One of the main properties of dietary plasma is a substantial stimulation of feed intake after weaning (25%!). Many experiments demonstrated that a high feed intake after weaning prevents intestinal damage (villus atrophy).