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Review
. 2021 Nov 23;9(12):2415.
doi: 10.3390/microorganisms9122415.

Role of Bifidobacteria on Infant Health

Silvia Saturio  1   2 , Alicja M Nogacka  1   2 , Guadalupe M Alvarado-Jasso  1 , Nuria Salazar  1   2 , Clara G de Los Reyes-Gavilán  1   2 , Miguel Gueimonde  1   2 , Silvia Arboleya  1   2
Affiliations
Review

Role of Bifidobacteria on Infant Health

Silvia Saturio et al. Microorganisms. .

Abstract

Bifidobacteria are among the predominant microorganisms during infancy, being a dominant microbial group in the healthy breastfed infant and playing a crucial role in newborns and infant development. Not only the levels of the Bifidobacterium genus but also the profile and quantity of the different bifidobacterial species have been demonstrated to be of relevance to infant health. Although no definitive proof is available on the causal association, reduced levels of bifidobacteria are perhaps the most frequently observed alteration of the intestinal microbiota in infant diseases. Moreover, Bifidobacterium strains have been extensively studied by their probiotic attributes. This review compiles the available information about bifidobacterial composition and function since the beginning of life, describing different perinatal factors affecting them, and their implications on different health alterations in infancy. In addition, this review gathers exhaustive information about pre-clinical and clinical studies with Bifidobacterium strains as probiotics in neonates.

Keywords: bifidobacteria; development; disease; early life; gut microbiota; health; infant; probiotics.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Factors shaping healthy initial bifidobacteria establishment.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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