Carbohydrate-boosted control of intestinal health: In-vitro tools for broiler chickens and infants

The gut plays a crucial role in human and animal health, with the microbiota, a vast array of microbial cells, influencing processes such as digestion, metabolism and immune function. At birth and hatching, the gut microbiota undergoes dynamic changes, with stable results after 2-3 years in humans and 3-5 weeks in chickens. Various factors, including genetics, environment, diet and medication use, influence the composition of the microbiota. An imbalance can lead to dysbiosis, which causes health problems such as intestinal inflammation. Research focuses on improving gut health, focusing on prebiotics such as 2'-fucosyllactose (2'-FL) and galacto-oligosaccharides (GOS). An in vitro pipeline, including optimized chicken and human models, was used to test potential prebiotics such as isomalto/malto polysaccharides and citrus pectins. Results show the beneficial effects on intestinal health in broiler chickens. Further research focuses on fermentation products of prebiotics in infants and their effect on the intestinal barrier and immune activation. The thesis highlights the complexity of these interactions and presents an in vitro pipeline the provides better predictions than traditional in vivo models.