Propionate carbohydrate fermentation product

Propionic 3 An end product of carbohydrate fermentation by rumen organisms ... 

Due to fermentation of hitherto undigested carbohydrates by the cecal and colonic bacteria (the large bowel contains concentrations of bacteria of up to 10lo-1012 bacteria/ mL), the pH in the proximal colon is usually lower than that of the ileum. This is reflected in the composition of SCoF, which is essentially an acetate buffer. The use of acetate is appropriate as it is known that the products of carbohydrate fermentation include very short chain acids (acetate, propionate, and butyrate are typical). 

For a number of reasons, a great deal of effort has been directed to the degradation of alkanoic acids acetate, propionate, and butyrate are fermentation products of carbohydrates and are metabolites of the aerobic degradation of alklanes and related compounds, while long-chain acids are produced by the hydrolysis of lipids. Studies on the degradation of alkanoic adds have been carried out using both pure cultures and syntrophic associations that have been discussed in Section 4.5.1. 

Abstract PLA belongs to the family of aliphatic polyesters derived from a-hydroxy acids. The basic building block of PLA, lactic acid, (2-hydroxy propionic acid), can exist in optically active D- or L-enantiomers, which can be produced by carbohydrate fermentation or chemical syntihesis. Depending on the proportion of the enantiomers, PLA of with variable material properties can be derived. This allows the production of a wide spectrum of PLA polymers to match performance requirements. 

The nature of the diet sets the basic pattern of metabohsm. There is a need to process the products of digestion of dietary carbohydrate, lipid, and protein. These are mainly glucose, fatty acids and glycerol, and amino acids, respectively. In ruminants (and to a lesser extent in other herbivores), dietary cellulose is fermented by symbiotic microorganisms to short-chain fatty acids (acetic, propionic, butyric), and metabohsm in these animals is adapted to use these fatty acids as major substrates. All the products of digestion are metabohzed to a common product, acetyl-CoA, which is then oxidized by the citric acid cycle (Figure 15-1). 

Carboxylic Acids Obtained by Fermentation of Carbohydrates Lactic (2-hydroxy-propionic) acid obtained by fermentation of glucose and polysaccharides is used by NatureWorks (Cargill/Dow LLC) to prepare polylactide (PLA), a biodegradable or recyclable polymer with a potential production of 140000 t a-1 (Scheme 3.4) [23], This and other potential useful reactions from lactic acid have been reviewed by Datta and Henry [24],... 

Parasitic stages, on the other hand, generally do not use oxygen as the final electron acceptor but use fermentative processes to obtain most of their ATP. For these stages, an uneconomical energy metabolism is not detrimental, as the host provides the nutrients. Most adult flatworms inside the final host produce end products of a fermentative carbohydrate breakdown, such as succinate, acetate, propionate and lactate. These end products are formed via malate dismutation, a fermentative pathway, which is present in all types of parasitic worms (flatworms as well as many nematodes), but which is also present in animals like freshwater snails, mussels, oysters and other marine organisms. Malate dismutation is linked to a specially... 

It has been suggested that through its effects on (1) rumen fermentation (some experiments have shown increased microbial growth and increased propionic acid production) and (2) cell metabolism (increased utilisation of carbohydrate and reduced lipid mobilisation), nicotinic acid may be a useful supplement to dairy cows, particularly in situations of subclinical ketosis. However, the experimental evidence is not consistent. Nicotinic acid does not always give positive responses in the rumen and increases in blood concentrations were not observed in all experiments. Current recommendations do not advocate the supplementation of dairy cow diets in order to increase milk yield and composition. 

The final criterion for a prebiotic is that its fermentation in the colon has some beneficial impact on host health. In vitro studies using models of the colonic microbiota inoculated with human feces and studies in animals, have shown that fermentation of prebiotic fructans leads to accumulation of acetate and butyrate in intestinal/gut model contents. Fermentation of other prebiotics and certain dietary fibers has also been shown to increase propionate production in these systems. Small amounts of lactate and succinate can also be observed using in vitro models, but in vivo, these SCFA are rapidly converted into butyrate and propionate by the gut microbiota. Bifidobacteria and lactobacilli ferment carbohydrates mainly to acetate and lactate, but do not themselves produce butyrate. Recent studies have shown that dominant members of the Firmicutes, Eubacterium halli, Roseburia, Faecalibacterium prausnitzii and Anaerostipes caccae are able to cross-feed off acetate and lactate within the colonic milieu converting them into butyrate, providing a mechanism by which prebiotic modulation of acetate-produdng bifidobacteria can lead to elevated butyrate concentrations within the SCFA have been implicated... 

Selenomonas ruminantium, a Gram-negative anaerobe and one of the major species present in the rumen, accumulates succinate as a major end product in the presence of lactate, if malate is added to stimulate lactate uptake. Without malate present, the major end products are acetate and propionate. When succinate reached the concentration of the added malate, malate utilization ended. From a practical standpoint, malate could be added to ruminant diets high in rapidly fermentable carbohydrates. Because high rumen lactate is undesirable, the presence of malate could stimulate lactate utilization (Evans and Martin 1997). 

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