Metabolic activity and enzyme induction in rat fecal microflora maintained in continuous culture

The enzyme activity of the rat hindgut microflora maintained in an anaerobic two-stage continuous culture was compared with that of rat cecal contents. A qualitative comparison (API ZYM) showed a high degree of similarity between the two populations. Quantitative determinations showed that azoreductase, beta-glucosidase, nitrate reductase, and nitroreductase activities were comparable, and that beta-glucuronidase activity was very low in the culture. beta-Glucuronidase, beta-glucosidase, and nitrate reductase activities were induced within the culture by their respective substrates. Bile acids influenced microbial activity in vitro, with cholic acid inducing beta-glucosidase, azoreductase, and beta-glucuronidase activities and decreasing nitrate reductase activity. Chenodeoxycholic acid increased beta-glucosidase and beta-glucuronidase activities and decreased azoreductase, nitrate reductase, and nitroreductase activities in vitro. These studies demonstrate that the rat hindgut microflora may be successfully cultured in vitro and suggest control mechanisms that regulate the metabolic activity of these organisms in vivo.