People usually have fundamentally incorrect notions about bacteria. Only a few people know that some bacteria have a positive influence upon our health apart from making goose bumps all over body. There are several microbes harboured by our intestine, which benefit us by stimulating the digestive system and protecting against diseases.
There are approximately 500 different types of bacteria living inside our gastrointestinal tract and there number is 10 times greater than the total count of our body cells. These bacteria are generally categorised either as good bacteria or bad bacteria depending upon their role in our digestive system. The good bacteria are generally lactic acid producing bacteria belonging to Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium genera.
The bad bacteria are involved in several kinds of illnesses like fever, diarrhea, inflammation and cancer of intestine. The competition between pathogenic and beneficial bacteria goes on for occupying binding sites and food inside the intestine. The beneficial microbes have the capability to suppress pathogenic bacteria, in turn enhancing the activity of immune system of the host.
The favourable circumstances to help lock a greater number of microbes to host intestines can be greatly enhanced by the use of prebiotics and probiotics invigoration. These biotics are actually the food supplements which accelerate growth of good bacteria. The probiotics are the live microbial feed supplements which beneficially affect the host animal by improving its intestinal microbial balance, whereas, prebiotics are selectively fermentable carbohydrates which resist the digestive enzymes of host and are preferentially fermented by good bacteria.
In adults the intestinal bacterial ecology is specifically stable and may be influenced by either food or stress. The stress may be psychological, environmental or physiological. Stress increases numbers of pathogenic bacteria and suppresses the number of good bacteria. The change in bacterial composition results into malfunctioning of digestive system as well as dwindle the efficiency of immune system, providing prime time for pathogens to invade and multiply in host intestines.
Pakistan has a sub-tropic climate, characterised by a long, laborious and languid summer. The summer weather is likely to trigger stress, altering the otherwise proficient body defence system, predisposing the body to diseases such as mal-digestion, diarrhoea, constipation and inflammation. The decline of body defence system against disease brought out by stress factor is common to both human and animals. In order to comprehend the phenomenon of stress and importance of intestinal bacteria, we structured a project design utilizing poultry broilers as model animal.
Broilers were kept under heat stress to observe changes in the intestinal bacteria ecology. Several performance parameters were studied. It was observed that after exposing the broilers to heat for a certain period, bacterial composition inside the intestine was altered. The number of pathogenic bacteria increased compared to good bacteria. The resistance to disease decreased. Also, we observed that supplementing heat stressed broilers improved production performance and body immunity against disease.
As the body functions of animals are comparable to men, therefore, similar results may be observed in human beings as well. Food supplements with prebiotics and probiotics characteristics are advisable which augment the immune function to fight back the pathogens attack.
Most of such food supplements are a part of our routine diet. One may have a good proportion of yogurt, fermented cheese, and sour cream in one’s daily diet as these foods are rich in lactic acid bacteria and can preferentially augment intestinal bacterial composition.
Whereas, prebiotics are found in root vegetables, carrots, apples, unrefined cereal’s flour like oat, barley and soy bean. These foods are rich in fibres contents. A healthy addition of these foods in our routine diet can assure a healthy token for us.
MUHAMMAD UMAR SOHAIL
Lahore
