Gut restoration and disease management

Probiotics bring the right bacteria. Prebiotics keep them there.

Probiotics: live beneficial bacteria

How they protect
the gut

Prebiotics: food for good bacteria

How they shape the community

Competitive exclusion:

Beneficial bacteria take the attachment sites and nutrients that Salmonella, E. coli and Clostridium need.

Selective feeding:

Fibres such as mannan- and fructo-oligosaccharides pass undigested to the lower gut, where beneficial bacteria ferment them.

Antimicrobial compounds:

Bacillus and lactic acid bacteria produce substances that inhibit pathogens directly.

Pathogen binding:

Mannan-oligosaccharides (MOS) bind to the fimbriae that some bacteria use to attach, so those bacteria pass out instead of colonising.

Stronger gut lining:

A healthy community supports taller villi and tighter junctions between gut cells, so fewer pathogens and toxins get through.

Short-chain fatty acids:

Fermentation produces acids that lower gut pH, feed gut cells and discourage pathogens.

Hardy spores:

Bacillus spores tolerate heat and stomach acid far better than most bacteria, which helps them survive feed processing and reach the intestine.

Synbiotic effect:

Given together, probiotic and prebiotic reinforce each other.

Prebiotic evidence: mannan-oligosaccharide in broilers

Pooled pen trials, MOS compared with a diet without antibiotics.

−21%

mortality

+1.6%

body weight

−2.0%

feed conversion ratio