摘要：Fermentation of D-mannitol and the bacteria responsible for it were analyzed by <sup>13</sup>C-NMR spectroscopy and amplified ribosomal restriction analyses (ARDRA) on intestinal bacteria in pig cecal digesta and in a rat in vivo feeding trial. [1-<sup>13</sup>C]- Mannitol was fermented by pig cecal digesta mainly to [2-<sup>13</sup>C]-propionate, [3-<sup>13</sup>C]-propionate, [2-<sup>13</sup>C]-butyrate, and [4-13C]-butyrate. Dietary D-mannitol at a 5% level induced significantly higher cecal butyrate concentration in the rat model. The evolution of rat fecal bacteria due to feeding with D-mannitol suggested the involvement of a lactate-utilizing butyrate producer, Clostridium indolis , in the stimulation of butyrate production. Rat intestinal microbiota is often difficult to extrapolate to that of humans, but the stimulation of the lactate-utilizing butyrate producers and propionate producers was suggested by the <sup>13</sup>C-NMR spectroscopy of the end products of pig cecal fermentation and ARDRA on rat fecal bacteria. These results suggest the potential of D-mannitol as a prebiotic, which modifies large intestinal fermentation to produce more butyrate and propionate.Key words: D-Mannitol, 13C-NMR, butyrate, propionate, large intestine
