Prospects for further approximation of infant formulas to human milk

Abstract

In this study: breast-fed babies developed a flora rich in bifidobacteria with lower counts of enterobacteria; bacteroides and clostridia, if detected were usually present in low numbers; formula-fed babies usually had high counts of bifidobacteria and enterobacteria; bacteroides plus clostridia were isolated with higher counts and from a larger percentage of babies than in the breast-fed group; and conalbumin did not appear to bring the gut flora of formula-fed babies nearer to that observed in breast-fed infants.