Effects of different dietary protein sources on cecal microflora in rats

Abstract

The aim of this study was to test the effects of balanced diets respectively containing soya protein isolate, zein and casein as the sole protein source on the amount of total bacteria, Lactobacillus, Bifidobacterium and Escherichia in cecal digesta of growing rats. The casein increased the amount of Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium than the soya protein and zein. Soy protein was better than the zein in the role of increasing the numbers of Lactobacilli and Bifidobacterium in the cecal of rats.

Key words: Protein, Lactobacillus, Bifidobacterium, Escherichia coli, rats, quantitative real-time PCR.