Floch M H, Wolfman M, Doyle R
J Clin Gastroenterol. 1980 Jun;2(2):175-84. doi: 10.1097/00004836-198006000-00014.
The gastrointestinal tract contains a unique microecology. Microorganisms living in the mouth, stomach, and most importantly in the small and large intestines produce enzymes which help metabolize certain ingested foods, as well as maintain important body homeostatic mechanisms such as the bile salt enterohepatic circulation. Recent awareness of the importance of poorly digested foods such as cellulose, hemicellulose, pectins, and lignins, as well as selectively absorbed long-chain polysaccharides, has stressed the importance of the relationship of food to the microflora. This intestinal microecology has definite effects on the human host in cholesterol metabolism, glucose tolerance, and may explain such diseases as carcinoma. The exacting details of the intestinal microecology need further elaboration.
胃肠道包含独特的微生态环境。生活在口腔、胃，以及最重要的是小肠和大肠中的微生物会产生酶，这些酶有助于某些摄入食物的代谢，同时维持重要的身体稳态机制，如胆盐的肠肝循环。最近对纤维素、半纤维素、果胶和木质素等消化不良食物，以及选择性吸收的长链多糖重要性的认识，凸显了食物与微生物群关系的重要性。这种肠道微生态对人类宿主的胆固醇代谢、葡萄糖耐量有明确影响，并且可能解释诸如癌症等疾病。肠道微生态的确切细节需要进一步阐述。
