{'fraction_non_alphanumeric': 0.020298507462686566, 'fraction_numerical': 0.010149253731343283, 'mean_word_length': 5.348484848484849, 'pattern_counts': {'":': 0, '<': 0, '<?xml version=': 0, '>': 0, 'https://': 0, 'lorem ipsum': 0, 'www.': 0, 'xml': 0}, 'pii_count': 0, 'substrings_counts': 0, 'word_list_counts': {'cursed_substrings.json': 0, 'profanity_word_list.json': 0, 'sexual_word_list.json': 0, 'zh_pornsignals.json': 0}}
Interrelationships between the Gastrointestinal Microflora and Non-Nutrient Components of the Diet

Man, in common with all creatures inhabiting the normal world, is host to a mass of microorganisms that colonize the epithelial surfaces and contents of the gastrointestinal tract. All substances entering the gut lumen are subject to the considerable metabolic capacity of the flora. The influence of the gut microflora on digestion, absorption and metabolism of nutrients has been well documented (Wostmann, 1981; Coates, 1987, and others). Its effects on additives, contaminants and other non-nutrient components of the diet have also been recognized for some time (Scheline, 1973; Goldman, 1978). Most gut microorganisms are strict anaerobes, hence their reactions tend to be mainly reductive and hydrolytic, in contrast to those of mammalian tissues which are generally oxidative and conjugative. Ingested foreign compounds may be converted directly by organisms in the gut into metabolites with greater or less toxicity to the host. Those that are absorbed are transported to the liver for detoxication, usually by oxidation and conjugation with glucuronate, sulphate or glutathione. The conjugates are re-excreted via the bile into t4e small intestine, where they may undergo deconjugation and reduction by bacterial enzymes to simpler compounds which are likely to be more readily absorbed. The overall effect of this enterohepatic circulation is to prolong the length of time the xenobiotic or its metabolites remain in the body of the host. This review deals only with constituents of foods, but it is evident that drugs given by mouth, and parenterally administered