A Specific Prebiotic Mixture Added to Starting Infant Formula Has Long-Lasting Bifidogenic Effects

Abstract

There is some evidence that early colonization of the intestine affects the composition of the intestinal microbiota after weaning. In the present study, the effect of prebiotics administered from the first day of life on fecal counts of bifidobacteria and lactobacilli were studied during and after the administration of the prebiotics. In this double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled, explorative study, 20 newborns of hepatitis C virus-infected mothers who decided not to breast feed due to their concerns regarding their plasma viral load were randomly assigned to either a formula with 8 g/L of a specific prebiotic mixture (short-chain galacto-oligosaccharides and long-chain fructo-oligosaccharides, ratio 9:1) or a formula containing the same amount of maltodextrin (placebo). Clinical examination including anthropometric measurements, microbiological analysis of fecal samples, and blood leukocyte population analysis were performed at birth and 3, 6, and 12 mo age. At the age of 12 mo, hepatitis B vaccine-specific IgG serum titers (Hepatitis B virus surface antibodies) were also measured. Prebiotic supplementation resulted in more fecal bifidobacteria (P < 0.0001) and lactobacilli (P = 0.0044) compared with the placebo group. These differences between the groups were maintained during the second half of the first year without any prebiotic supplementation. There was no influence of the different diets on anthropometric data or the measured immunological variables. The data from this small explorative study indicate that early colonization of the intestine might have long-lasting effects on the composition of the intestinal microbiota.

Consumption of human milk glycoconjugates by infant-associated bifidobacteria: mechanisms and implications

“…Of particular interest is how the intestinal microbiota is established, given the potential impact it has on subsequent health and disease (Reinhardt et al, 2009;Scholtens et al, 2012). Patterns of early intestinal colonization can have both short-term and long-term health effects (Bager et al, 2008;Cho et al, 2012;Collado et al, 2012;Kalliomäki et al, 2008;Salvini et al, 2011). Bacterial colonization of the intestine is key in several aspects: bacteria provide essential nutrients for the infant such as vitamins and short-chain fatty acids, they stimulate the development of the immune system, especially adaptive responses, and they provide general protection against pathogen colonization, among several other functions (Hooper et al, 2012;Nicholson et al, 2012).…”

Composition of the early intestinal microbiota

“…161 It was also noted that specific combinations of prebiotics, including short chain (sc) GOS/long chain (lc) FOS, increased bifidobacteria and lactobacilli levels to the extent that, in some cases, levels of these genera were comparable to those observed in the gut of breastfed infants. 106,[162][163][164][165] This impact was apparent despite the fact that these prebiotics had structures, which differed from those of HMOS. In one such study qPCR and FISH were used in combination to identify and quantify the bifidobacteria in fecal samples from infants fed GOS and FOS supplemented feeds.…”

Supplementation of prebiotics in infant formula

“…The majority of published studies 7-14 demonstrated significantly higher levels of bifidobacteria after supplementation, while two trials 15,16 reported a higher count of bifidobacteria; however this was not statistically significant. Salvini et al 17 in their small explorative study (sample size 20) reported a long-lasting bifidogenic effect, which continued even 6 months after intervention was stopped. One study looked at the difference in the stool colonies of bifidobacteria in infants fed on prebiotic-supplemented formula and breast-fed infants and found that formula supplemented with prebiotics has a bifidogenic effect comparable to that of breast milk.…”