In School-Aged Children a Combination of Galacto-Oligosaccharides and <i>Lactobacillus</i> GG Increases Bifidobacteria More than <i>Lactobacillus</i> GG on Its Own

Abstract

The aim of this study was to compare a combination of Lactobacillus GG (LGG) and galacto-oligosaccharides (GOS) with LGG on its own, and their effects on the intestinal microbiota in school-aged children. The randomized, double-blinded, crossover study comprised 30 healthy children. There were two 3-week study periods with a 4-week wash-out period in between. The children ingested daily 65 ml of milk-based fruit juice containing either LGG alone (6.5 × 10⁹ CFU) or LGG plus 2 g of GOS. Symptom diaries were filled during the study periods. Fecal samples were collected at the beginning and end of both study periods. At the end of both study periods, the amount of bifidobacteria was significantly greater after the ingestion of LGG + GOS compared with LGG alone (geometric mean 9.33 × 10⁹ vs. 4.28 × 10⁹ CFU/g, p < 0.001). No significant differences were seen in the amount of lactobacilli or LGG, nor did gastrointestinal symptoms, defecation frequency, consistency of stools or ease of defecation differ between the two study periods. Ingestion of LGG combined with 2 g of GOS increased the bifidobacteria more than LGG on its own and thus GOS clearly has a prebiotic effect in children. The children tolerated well a daily intake of 2 g of GOS.

Development of galacto-oligosaccharide fortified cookies for gut health management of normal 2–5 years old children

“…However, Mean squares for interval and the interaction between groups and study interval were non-significant. These results were in line with the study of Piirainen (3) who evaluated the effects of galactooligosaccharide. Overall, prebiotic fortified cookies were found to be highly acceptable & favorably impacted on gut microbioata.…”

Intestinal fermentation of lactose and prebiotic lactose derivatives, including human milk oligosaccharides

“…In the last decade or so, the prebiotic activity of GOS was confirmed in several studies which showed an increase in bifidobacteria and/or lactobacilli either in infants (Ben et al, 2008;Fanaro et al, 2009;Napoli, Brand-Miller, & Conway, 2003), school-aged children (Piirainen et al, 2008) or in healthy adults (Bouhnik et al, 2004;Ito et al, 1993).…”

Probiotics

“…No significant differences were observed in vomiting, abdominal pain, feeding intakes, or weight gain between the two formulas [90]. Synbiotics should be further investigated in this indication [91].…”