Comparing the gut flora of Irish breastfed and formula-fed neonates aged between birth and 6 weeks old

Abstract

Comparing the gut flora of Irish breastfed and formula-fed neonates aged between birth and 6 weeks old. Microbial Ecology in Health and DiseaseJan 2005, Vol. 17, No. 3, Pages 163-168 (doi:10.1080/ 08910600500430664) Microbiological methods were used to specifically enumerate Lactobacilli sp., Bifidobacteria sp., Enterococci sp., Staphylococci sp., Bacteroides sp., Clostridia sp. and coliforms present in the gut. The data indicated major trends present, including the fact that Bifidobacteria sp. and Lactobacilli sp. were more prevalent in the gut flora of breast fed neonates whereas E.coli and Enterococci sp. were more prevalent in the gut flora of formula fed neonates. The higher prevalence of Bifidobacteria and Lactobacilli, which are often incorporated into probiotic foods, in Irish breast fed neonates thus re-enforces the advantages of breastfeeding over formula feeding.

Microbial Colonization From the Fetus to Early Childhood—A Comprehensive Review

“…In addition to lipids and carbohydrates, human breast milk harbors proteins (immunoglobulins, enzymes) as well as hormones, growth factors, nucleotides, leukocytes, cytokines, lysozyme, and lactoferrin as reviewed by Hennet and Borsig (2016). Breast-fed children have an intestinal microbiota mainly dominated by Bifidobacteria and Lactobacilli (Cooke et al, 2005;Backhed et al, 2015), Bacteroides (which can digest HMO) (Wang et al, 2015) as well as Staphylococcus (Stewart et al, 2018). In contrast, children drinking formula tend to have a higher bacterial diversity and in addition to Bifidobacteriaceae, Clostridia, Enterococcus, and Enterobacteriaceae are detected (Harmsen et al, 2000;Li et al, 2014;Timmerman et al, 2017).…”