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Comparative Study
. 2024 Oct 2;16(19):3347.
doi: 10.3390/nu16193347.

Comparative Study of Prebiotics for Infants Using a Fecal Culture System: Insights into Responders and Non-Responders

Shijir Xijier Mingat  1 , Tatsuya Ehara  1 , Hirohiko Nakamura  1 , Kazuhiro Miyaji  1
Affiliations
Comparative Study

Comparative Study of Prebiotics for Infants Using a Fecal Culture System: Insights into Responders and Non-Responders

Shijir Xijier Mingat et al. Nutrients. .

Abstract

Background: The gut microbiota of breast-fed infants is dominated by infant-type human-residential bifidobacteria (HRB) that contribute to infant health; thus, it is crucial to develop infant formulas that promote the establishment of a gut microbiota enriched with infant-type HRB, closely resembling that of breastfed infants.

Methods: We compared various non-digestible prebiotic oligosaccharides and their combinations using a fecal culture system to explore which candidates could promote the growth of all infant-type HRB and rarely yield non-responders. The analysis included lactulose (LAC), raffinose (RAF), galactooligosaccharides (GOS), and short- and long-chain fructooligosaccharides. Fecal samples were collected from seven infants aged 1.5-10.2 months and cultured with each oligosaccharide individually or their combinations.

Results: No single oligosaccharide effectively promoted the growth of all infant-type HRB, although GOS promoted the growth of HRB other than Bifidobacterium longum subsp. longum. Only the LAC/RAF/GOS group evenly and effectively promoted the growth of all infant-type HRB. Accordingly, acetate production was higher in fecal cultures supplemented with GOS or LAC/RAF/GOS than in the other cultures, suggesting that it is a superior combination for all infant-type HRB and rarely yields non-responders.

Conclusions: This study can aid in developing infant formulas that help align the gut microbiota of formula-fed infants with that of breastfed infants.

Keywords: bifidobacteria; human-residential bifidobacteria; infant formula; non-digestible oligosaccharide; non-responder; prebiotics.

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Conflict of interest statement

S.M., E.T., N.H. and M.K., are employed by Morinaga Milk Industry Co., Ltd. The remaining authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Heat-mapping and ranking of the prebiotic effects of oligosaccharide (s) on infant-type HRB. The prebiotic effects of oligosaccharide (s) on the targeted bifidobacteria were heat-mapped with corresponding log-fold changes in cell numbers during cultivation. Ranking was performed as described in the Section 2. Experimental groups are arranged from top to bottom of the panel and subjects from left to right of the panel, according to the size of the effect on the targeted bifidobacteria, based on the ANCOVA LSMeans test. Overall, the group arranged at the top was the most effective. (a): Bifidobacterium; (b): Bifidobacterium breve; (c): Bifidobacterium longum subsp. infantis; (d): Bifidobacterium longum subsp. longum; (e): Bifidobacterium bifidum.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Analysis of SCFAs and lactate produced during cultivation. SCFAs and lactate produced during cultivation were calculated by subtracting the concentration at 0 h from that at 24 h. (a): acetate production, (b): correlation between the total number of Bifidobacterium and concentration of acetate produced, (c): propionate production, (d): lactate production, (e): correlation between the total number of Bifidobacterium and concentration of lactate produced. Data are expressed as means (n = 7) with SD. Different letters indicate significant differences (p < 0.05).
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