Abstract
Certain non-digestible oligosaccharides (NDO) are specifically fermented by bifidobacteria along the human gastrointestinal tract, selectively favoring their growth and the production of health-promoting metabolites. In the present study, the ability of the probiotic strain Bifidobacterium longum subsp. infantis CECT7210 (herein referred to as B. infantis IM-1®) to utilize a large range of oligosaccharides, or a mixture of oligosaccharides, was investigated. The strain was able to utilize all prebiotics screened. However, galactooligosaccharides (GOS), and GOS-containing mixtures, effectively increased its growth to a higher extent than the other prebiotics. The best synbiotic combination was used to examine the antimicrobial activity against Escherichia coli, Cronobacter sakazakii, Listeria monocytogenes and Clostridium difficile in co-culture experiments. C. difficile was inhibited by the synbiotic, but it failed to inhibit E. coli. Moreover, Cr. sakazakii growth decreased during co-culture with B. infantis IM-1®. Furthermore, adhesion experiments using the intestinal cell line HT29 showed that the strain IM-1® was able to displace some pathogens from the enterocyte layer, especially Cr. sakazakii and Salmonella enterica, and prevented the adhesion of Cr. sakazakii and Shigella sonnei. In conclusion, a new synbiotic (probiotic strain B. infantis IM-1® and GOS) appears to be a potential effective supplement for maintaining infant health. However, further studies are needed to go more deeply into the mechanisms that allow B. infantis IM-1® to compete with enteropathogens.
Highlights
The gastrointestinal microbiota is a complex and dynamic ecosystem that inhabits the human gut from birth, and has an important influence on human health
This study confirmed that the addition of a single oligosaccharide, or a mixture of oligosaccharides, has positive effects on the growth promotion of B. infantis IM-1®, a bifidobacterial strain originally isolated from the feces of a breastfed infant
Based on the results of this work, we propose that suitable synbiotic combinations including the B. infantis IM-1® probiotic strain should contain either
Summary
The gastrointestinal microbiota is a complex and dynamic ecosystem that inhabits the human gut from birth, and has an important influence on human health. The gut microbiota and the mucosa themselves act as barriers against invasion by potential pathogens, promoting normal intestinal function [1,2]. Nutrients 2020, 12, 3259 reason, nowadays, an increasing interest in developing functional foods and dietary supplements capable of promoting human health through beneficially modulating the gut ecosystem exists. The well-documented health-promoting effects of the intestinal microbiota present in breastfed infants have prompted investigation into dietary approaches capable of establishing a similar microbiota structure, dominated by bifidobacteria, in formula-fed infants [11]. It is currently accepted that nutrition and gut microbiota balancing in early life can significantly impact the immune programming development, conditioning health outcomes and the risk of suffering from chronic and inflammatory diseases in the short and long term, as recently reviewed [12]. Probiotics are live microorganisms that, when administered in adequate amounts, confer a health benefit on the host [13], while prebiotics are substrates that are selectively utilized by host microorganisms, conferring a health benefit [14]
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