Diet, length of gestation, and fecal short chain fatty acids in healthy premature neonates

Abstract

Fecal SCFA excretion may vary in absence of any digestive disease. During this study, in terms of gestational age, total SCFA concentrations were significantly lower in extremely premature infants compared with infants born less premature, despite their known higher deficiency in intestinal lactase activity. In terms of diet, the absence of lactose did not lead to a decrease in colonic fermentation and induced changes in SCFA patterns. These new baseline data may offer clues to further development of milk formulas.

Fecal Short‐Chain Fatty Acids of Very‐Low‐Birth‐Weight Preterm Infants Fed Expressed Breast Milk or Formula

“…The lower propionate concentrations for both groups when full feed was established are consistent with the low concentrations from birth to 20 days independent of diet (9,25). Propionate increased thereafter and much more so when preterm infants were fed EBM.…”

Effects of Oral Administration of Bifidobacterium breve on Fecal Lactic Acid and Short‐chain Fatty Acids in Low Birth Weight Infants

“…that fecal excretion of total SCFAs was significantly higher in preterm infants (333 weeks) than in the extremely premature group (<33 weeks) (20). Thus, we found that the total SCFA levels of the LBW infants (333 weeks) were higher than those of the VLBW and ELBW infants (<33 weeks) of the control groups in all study periods (Table 1).…”

Evidence for Clostridial Implication in Necrotizing Enterocolitis through Bacterial Fermentation in a Gnotobiotic Quail Model

“…In premature infants, because of their potential deficiency in intestinal lactase, butyric acid can be overproduced in the distal ileum and colon and thus cause intestinal injury as hypothesized by Lin (6). Furthermore, SCFA concentrations in healthy extremely premature infants were very low as compared with premature infants and full-term infants, and butyric acid concentrations varied from 0 to 1.2 mol/g of feces, suggesting a different relationship between SCFAs and the intestinal mucosa in preterm infants (37).…”