Chemistry Reference
In-Depth Information
first 4 months of life.
102
In this trial, no effects on short-chain fatty acid profiles were
found in the infants receiving the BB-12 formula compared to the infants fed with
the standard formula. The pH was significantly lower in the BB-12 formula group at
day 10, but not at any of the other time points. In another trial administration, BB-12
was shown to increase the prevalence of colonization with bifidobacteria at 1 month
of age similar to that of breastfed infants, which was significantly higher than in
the standard control infant formula group.
166
In a group of preterm infants, receiv-
ing an infant formula with BB-12 from the first day after birth, effects were more
pronounced as bifidobacterial numbers were significantly higher compared to the
control group when analyzed by fluorescence
in situ
hybridization (FISH).
167
Earlier
studies have shown that in general the intestinal bacterial colonization with ben-
eficial bacteria like bifidobacteria and lactobacilli is delayed in preterm infants.
168
Administration of BB-12 was shown to affect the other major bacterial groups in
preterm infants, as viable counts of Enterobacteriaceae and
Clostridium
spp. were
significantly reduced.
167
15.4.3.1.2
Lactobacillus rhamnosus
GG
Previous studies in adults indicate that administration with LGG can enhance
the bifidobacterial counts in gut microbiota.
169
Administration of LGG to allergic
infants and infants at risk for allergy does not seem to induce significant changes
in the major bacterial groups.
170 -172
In a group of healthy infants, a more frequent
colonization with lactobacilli was found in the LGG-administrated group during
the first 6 months of life, but other major bacterial groups were not influenced.173
173
Administration of preterm neonates with LGG was reported to give a colonization
of 25 to 50 percent with LGG depending on the birth weight of the neonate. In this
study, administration of LGG increased the total number of bacterial species signifi-
cantly, mainly due to an increase in Gram (+) species and anaerobic spp. other than
LGG. Only in the infants weighing less than 1,500 g, Millar et al.
174
and Stansbridge
et al.
175
reported that 90 percent of the preterm infants were colonized with LGG, but
simultaneous alterations in other bacterial groups were not observed. Colonization
with LGG was not shown to give any significant increase in fecal short-chain fatty
acids in preterm infants.
175
Changes in microbiota by using a mixture of probiotic strains including LGG
with or without prebiotics were more pronounced. Kukkonen et al.,
176
for example,
showed that the probiotic group was more frequently colonized with lactobacilli and
propionibacteria after administration of a mix of four strains and GOS in a group of
infants at risk for allergy. Also fecal counts of bifidobacteria and lactobacilli were
significantly higher at 3 and 6 months. It was shown that these microbiota changes
were relatively short term because at 24 months no differences in these microbi-
ota groups were no longer observed. Simultaneous administration of LGG with
B.
longum
BB536 in a group of infants at risk for allergy showed a significant increase
in bifidobacteria with a parallel decrease in Enterobacteriaceae and
Bacteroides-
Prevotella
populations.
177
