Four hitherto undescribed Clostridium strains capable of cleaving the C ring of quercetin, kaempferol, and naringenin at C-3-C-4 were isolated from the fecal flora of humans. None of the strains cleaved catechin. C-ring fission occurred when the substrate was either in solution or in suspension. Mixed cultures of flavonoidhydrolyzing bacteria, flavonoid-cleaving bacteria, and Escherichia coli, which was used to provide the anaerobic environment, rapidly metabolized rutin to 3,4-dihydroxyphenylacetic acid, indicating that the intestinal half-life of the biologically active aglycone is short. The cleaving strains shared many phenotypic characteristics, including their inability to ferment sugars, but they differed sufficiently to indicate that they represent different species.

A total of 20 patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) (Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis) were evaluated with regard to the role of infectious agents and host response. Patients were selected based upon oral manifestations of their disease, 10 with periodontal disease and 10 without. Microbiologic studies of the periodontal flora of IBD-affected patients revealed a unique microflora composed predominantly of small, motile, gram-negative rods, which were most consistent with the genus Wolinella. Further studies of the host response of these patients revealed a serum-mediated defect in neutrophil chemotaxis in all 10 patients with periodontal disease. Neutrophil phagocytosis was normal. In vitro studies of neutrophil function in response to Wolinella extracts and culture supernatants revealed inhibition of neutrophil chemotaxis in a dose-response fashion. The organism was chemokinetic for neutrophils but not chemotactic. The data suggest that unusual microorganisms colonizing the oral cavity of IBD patients potentially play a role in the pathogenesis of the disease as infectious agents or modifiers of the host response or both.

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We developed a simple, rapid method for demonstrating bacterial flagella with Ryu staining solution that gave satisfactory results for numerous motile and nonmotile bacteria. Two major advantages of this method are that the staining solution, ready for use, is stable at ambient temperature indefinitely and that microscopic examination of bacteria in the stained drop preparations can be performed rapidly.

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